Toddler found dead in borewell after three-day rescue operation

After three days of operation to rescue an 18-month-old girl from a borewell in Telangana's Rangareddy district, she was found dead at a depth of 180 feet.

Rescue workers pulled out the body early on Sunday, dashing all hopes of her parents, relatives and hundreds of people who had been waiting at the site, many fervently praying for her safety.

Chinnari fell into the 450-feet deep borewell in a field on Thursday evening while playing with her elder sister and other children in Chenvel village in Rangareddy district, about 55 km from Hyderabad.

Personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire services, police and Revenue Department took part in the rescue operation. A team from the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) also joined them on Saturday.

ONGC experts used their modern digging techniques and also deployed cameras but failed to track the kid.

State Transport Minister Mahender Reddy, who was supervising the rescue operation, said all efforts were made to rescue the child. The girl was first traced at a depth of 40 feet but she slipped further and was finally found dead at 180 feet.

He assured all help from the government to the girl's family.

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Sandilya said a case was booked against the owner of the field, Malla Reddy, under Indian Penal Code's Section 336 (endangering life or personal safety of a person). He had left the borewell uncovered after it did not yield water.

The government has directed collectors of all districts to cap all abandoned borewells to prevent such incidents.

--IANS

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