As Chhattisgarh heaved a sigh of relief with an 11-year-old's rescue from a borewell after more than 100 hours, chief minister Bhupesh Baghel - who had been tracking updates since Friday - tweeted praises for the boy late on Tuesday night. Rahul Sahu was stuck in the borewell with a snake for 104 hours, Baghel said, as he tweeted with a note of affection in Hindi: "Humara baccha Bahadur hai (Our boy is brave)".
"A snake and a frog were his companions for 104 hours. Today the whole of Chhattisgarh is celebrating... we all wish for his return from hospital soon. Congratulations and thanks again to all the team involved in this operation," Baghel tweeted, along with a video where he is being briefed about the details.
In another post, as the boy was brought out, he wrote: "Understandably, the challenge was huge. But our team stands calm in the face of adversity. If the path is tricky, our will is strong. With blessings and dedicated efforts of the rescue team, Rahul Sahu has been brought out. We hope and pray he gets better soon."
{{/usCountry}}In another post, as the boy was brought out, he wrote: "Understandably, the challenge was huge. But our team stands calm in the face of adversity. If the path is tricky, our will is strong. With blessings and dedicated efforts of the rescue team, Rahul Sahu has been brought out. We hope and pray he gets better soon."
{{/usCountry}}Around 500 personnel, including officials from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army and the local police were involved in the rescue operation.
The 11-year-old had fallen into the borewell on Friday while playing near his home. A 70-feet pit parallel to the borewell was reportedly dug up on Friday evening, while a 15-feet tunnel was constructed to connect the pit with the borewell.
The chief minister had been tracking updates through video calls. Robot operator Mahesh Ahir had come Gujarat's Amreli for the operation.
After his rescue, he was taken to a hospital.
"We have won, our team has won. It was a challenging situation. We were given all kinds of assistance from the administration. CM Bhupesh Baghel was continuously monitoring the situation. We're taking Rahul directly to Apollo hospital in Bilaspur," Collector Janjgir, Jitendra Shukla told news agency ANI.
(With inputs from ANI)