Chhattisgarh: Efforts on to rescue 11-year-old boy who fell in borewell

A pit parallel to the borewell was being dug to rescue the child, a senior official from the district administration said, adding that it will take another 12 hours to reach the boy

RAIPUR: Efforts to rescue an 11-year-old boy, who fell in an 80-foot deep abandoned borewell in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district on Friday, were continued for the second consecutive day on Saturday, police said.

Rahul Sahu (11) fell into the unused borewell located in the backyard of his house in Pihrid village around 2 pm on Friday while playing, police said. (Representational image)

A pit parallel to the borewell was being dug to rescue the child, a senior official from the district administration said, adding that it will take another 12 hours to reach the boy.

Rahul Sahu, the deaf-and-mute boy, is conscious and responding, said Vijay Agarwal, superintendent of police, Janjgir-Champa. The boy has been provided with food and oxygen through a pipe.

“So far, rescuers have dug a 47-feet parallel pit with the help of JCB and poclain machines. After digging till about 60 feet, we will dig horizontally to reach the boy. Since he is deaf and mute, he is not responding properly which is why it is taking longer. The rescue operation will continue for another 12 hours,” said Agarwal.

Sahu fell into the unused borewell located in the backyard of his house in Pihrid village around 2 pm on Friday while playing, police said.

“The rescue operation, which began at 4 pm (Friday) is underway on war-footing. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) assisted by district administration and police personnel have been engaged in the rescue work,” a government statement said.

A team of doctors and authorities has been constantly monitoring the boy’s condition through camera. The child was provided bananas and biscuits, while a pipe has been installed for oxygen supply, an official said.

Chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has directed all district collectors and SPs to cover all borewells in order to prevent such incidents.

“The officials should take regular stock of abandoned borewells in their respective districts and ensure that such borewells are not left uncovered so that such incidents can be avoided,” the government statement said.

In a tweet, Baghel said, “We are also trying to take the help of robots to rescue Rahul. Instructions have been given to the officials to contact the robot specialist of Surat (Gujarat).”