2-year-old boy pulled out of bore well in Punjab after 110 hours, dies

A two-year-old child was pulled out of a 150-foot-deep unused bore well Tuesday after being stuck in it for almost 110 hours, but did not survive, officials and doctors said.

Fatehvir Singh was retrieved at around 5:30 am by National Disaster Response Force personnel, officials said.

He was rushed to the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research(PGIMER), Chandigarh, amid police security, Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori told PTI.

Doctors at the hospital said the child was brought dead.

"A post mortem of the body will be carried out soon," PGIMER Medical Superintendent A K Gupta said, adding that the hospital will issue a statement.

Earlier, when the child was brought at the facility, he was taken to the Advance Pediatrics Centre, the medical superintendent said.

The boy, who turned two on Monday, was stuck in the seven-inch-wide bore well at a depth of 125 feet.

A relative of the toddler's family alleged that he died due to "negligent behaviour of authorities".

"They did not use proper technique to rescue him early on. Trial and error methods were adopted for days. Where were the modern methods and technology?" the relative said.

The toddler's parents were inconsolable. Relatives and locals thronged the residence of his family.

The only child of his parents, Fatehvir fell into the bore well, which is in a field, while playing at Bhagwanpura village around 4 pm on Thursday. The bore well was covered with a cloth and the boy accidentally stepped on it.

His mother tried to save him, but failed, officials said.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh took to Twitter to express his condolences.

"Very sad to hear about the tragic death of young Fatehveer. I pray that Waheguru grants his family the strength to bear this huge loss. Have sought reports from all DCs (deputy commissioners) regarding any open bore well so that such terrible accidents can be prevented in the future," he said.

A massive rescue operation was launched to bring the child out safely. Officials managed to supply oxygen but no food or water could be provided to him.

Talking to media later, Thori, the Sangrur DC, said it was the toughest operation carried out by the NDRF at a depth of more than 100 feet.

A parallel bore well of 36-inch diameter was dug in a bid to rescue the child.

On Monday, there was anger among people against the district administration and the state government over the delay in rescuing Singh. A large number of people had assembled around the site and several of them raised slogans against the government.

Villagers had also held protest and blocked the Sunam-Mansa road.