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2-year-old pulled out dead from borewell in Madhya Pradesh after 22-hour rescue operation
Bhagirath Dewasi died within a few hours of falling into the borewell.
A two-year-old boy who fell into a borewell in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district, died of drowning on Friday, officials said, adding that the child was declared dead after a 22-hour rescue operation to pull him out.
According to officials, the child, Bhagirath Dewasi, had slipped into a 200-foot-deep borewell around 7.30pm on Thursday in Jhalaria village under Badnagar tehsil. After a massive rescue operation by joint teams of the SDRF and NDRF, his body was retrieved using iron rods, ropes, and specialized borewell machinery.
How the child died
Ujjain superintendent of police Pradeep Mishra confirmed that the body was transported from the village to the government hospital in Badnagar. He said, “Strict action will be taken following an investigation against anyone whose negligence is found to have contributed to this tragedy.”
Chief medical and health officer Dr Ashok Patel said that Bhagirath had died within a few hours of falling into the borewell, with the post-mortem examination confirming drowning as the cause of death.
What authorities said
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident, calling it deeply tragic. He announced financial assistance of ₹4 lakh for the boy’s parents and posted on X , “Despite immediate rescue efforts, the child could not be saved.”
Bhagirath’s father, Pravin Dewasi, originally from Rajasthan’s Pali district, had been camping in the area with his family to graze sheep. According to the mother, the toddler was playing nearby when he used a stone to dislodge the borewell’s cover. Mistaking the opening for a bucket, he stepped inside and fell. She rushed to save him but he had already slipped deep into the shaft.
Rescuers located the child at a depth of 75 feet inside the borewell, which contained water. Attempts to dig a parallel tunnel failed due to rocky terrain. Efforts to slip a rescue ring around his hands and pull him also proved unsuccessful.
