Boy in Karnataka borewell dead, rescue operation called off

The massive operation going on for six days to rescue six-year-old boy Thimanna from a farm borewell in a village near here was called off Saturday as the boy had died, a state minister said.

"We have called off the rescue operation after consulting experts and family members, as little Thimanna is no more and his body is stuck in deep mud at a depth of 160 feet in the 300-feet dry borewell," district in-charge minister S.R. Patil told reporters here.

Thimanna Sunday fell into the abandoned borewell in his father's sugarcane field at Sulikeri in Badami taluk, about 30km from Bagalkot town and 550 km northwest of Bangalore.

"The state government has announced Rs.5 lakh compensation to Thimanna's family," Patil said.

The government will seek the opinion of the state advocate general whether to extricate the body of the boy. The rescue team has reached 120 feet while the body is stuck at 160 feet.

Efforts to pull out Thimanna using a robotic arm failed as the mud around him became sticky and except his two hands above his head, his body was not visible through a CCTV camera that was lowered to view the conditions in the deep hole.

"We have assured Thimanna's father Hanumanthappa Hatti of levelling his farm land dug up to build a ramp for rescuing the boy, as the operation had damaged the sugarcane crop," Patil said.