Op Prince successful! 5-yr-old rescued

Armymen have rescued the boy nearly 50 hours after he had fallen into a pit in a Haryana village.

Soldiers rescued five-year-old Prince on Sunday, nearly 50 hours after he had fallen into a 60-ft pit while playing at Haldaheri village near Kurukshetra.

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People cheered as it became clear that an armyman had reached Prince around 7 p.m., after a two-day rescue operation that had the nation glued to television.

On Sunday, soldiers and experts from the fire service and air force dug a tunnel from a dried-up well parallel to the 16-inch pit into which the boy had fallen on Friday.

After a tense wait, a crane finally pulled out the boy, wrapped in a white sheet and cradled by a soldier. Prince looked dazed but did not appear to be in any pain as the soldier handed him over to his mother Karamjit. The boy was then taken for a medical check-up.

The boy’s parents — father Ram Chander is a farm labourer — had been at the site for two days, offering prayers.

Officials said Prince displayed "tremendous survival instincts" by remaining calm in the pit, something that also made the rescuers’ task easier.

Earlier, in the morning, tea, biscuits and water had been lowered to Prince. Oxygen was pumped into the pit. Rescuers monitored the boy’s condition using a closed-circuit TV system that also allowed him to talk to people on the surface.

Brigadier J Mann, the army officer coordinating the operation, said the rescuers had had to be very careful since the soil at the bottom of the pit was very soft and there was a danger of a cave-in.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who joined millions in praying for the boy, sent his blessings to Prince’s family and announced the government would take responsibility for his “full medical care”.  

(With agency inputs)