Search for 3-year-old who fell into drain called off

Four days after three-year-old Ayub Shaikh fell into a manhole near his house in Mankhurd, the fire brigade and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) called off the search for the boy’s body on Thursday evening.

Four days after three-year-old Ayub Shaikh fell into a manhole near his house in Mankhurd, the fire brigade and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) called off the search for the boy’s body on Thursday evening.

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Ayub was playing outside his house on Sunday when he fell into a 7-metre deep drain.

The BMC said efforts to recover the body did not meet with success.

“Our staff searched 60 manholes. Several divers were lowered inside the drain but there’s no trace of the child,” said D.L. Shinde, deputy municipal
commissioner, sewerage operations.

Shinde said rescue staff searched over six km during an operation that was often slow because of the presence of poisonous gases in the drain.

The lid of the drain had been allegedly stolen by the local residents around a fortnight ago.

Ayub’s father, Salaam Sheikh, works as a driver in Saudi Arabia.

His grandfather, Pervez (55), died of a heart attack when he heard about the incident.