23 hours on, 3-year-old girl stuck in borewell loses battle

A three-year-old girl who had fallen into an abandoned borewell at Vadod village in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat died today despite a relentless 23-hour rescue operation even as the child slipped deeper into the soil.
"The girl is dead now. Our rescue teams have tried hard to save her but as the debris of stones and soil have piled upon her she could not be saved," Bhavnagar district Collector P K Solanki told PTI.
The girl Kalpana Koli, whose parents are casual labourers, fell into around 600-ft deep borewell on a farmland at around 4 PM yesterday.
Initially she was stuck at the depth of 28 feet, but during the rescue operation she slipped further at 35 feet, making it difficult for the rescuers to reach her as crucial time passed by.

"At last, the rescue teams were only able to see Kalpana's hands and tried to pull her out, but as there was a possibility that her hands may get severed her father stopped us from carrying out any further rescue operation," he said.
Solanki said on the request of child's father Dilip Koli, she was cremated inside the borewell itself.
When asked if the authorities will initiate any inquiry to fix the negligence on part of anybody, Solanki said a probe will be ordered soon.
"We will make sure to inquire into this matter. An FIR will be filed and we will fix the persons who are responsible for the borewell tragedy," Solanki said.