spark

帰宅したgirlfriendを驚かそうと洗濯機の中に隠れたら出られなくなってしまうという珍事件がオーストラリアで起きました。
今回採り上げるのは動詞のspark。effortを目的語にとっており，また文脈から考えてmakeに近い意味だと推察されます。辞書には「〜を引き起こす」（『ウィズダム英和辞典』第3版，三省堂）とありました。以上のことからspark a delicate rescue effortは「弱々しくも必死に救助を求めるはめになった」と解釈してみました。（Koyamamoto）

Naked Aussie gets stuck in washing machine
SYDNEY — A naked Australian man was left red-faced after getting stuck in a washing machine during a game of hide and seek, after police had to grease him up with olive oil to get him out.
The man clambered into the top-loader machine on Saturday afternoon in his unit north of Melbourne, aiming to surprise his girlfriend when she got home.
But he became wedged, sparking a delicate rescue effort.
“He was trying to surprise his missus and became stuck,” Sergeant Tim Gleeson told the Herald Sun after police, firefighters, paramedics, and a local search and rescue squad used olive oil to maneuver the man out of his predicament.
“They greased him up until he was free,” Sgt Gleeson added.
“It was just a game gone wrong. It would be fair to say the gentleman was very embarrassed,” added Sergeant Michelle De Araugo.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/naked-aussie-gets-stuck-in-washing-machine