Efforts on to rescue 18-month-old boy trapped in Haryana borewell

Rescuers were Friday engaged in a difficult operation to pull out a one-and-a-half-year-old child who fell into a 60-feet-deep borewell while playing near his house in Balsamand village in Hisar district of Haryana.

The massive rescue operation has been going on for the past over 40 hours after the child fell into the borewell Wednesday evening. A team of NDRF and Army experts was being assisted in the rescue operation by civil and police authorities, officials here said.

As the rescuers on Friday reached close to the spot where the child is trapped, digging by machines was stopped and was now being done manually to proceed further to ensure that soil does not fall over the infant, they said.

Earlier, the authorities had started digging a parallel well about 20 feet away from the borewell and subsequently create a tunnel to bring out the child safely.

The child's movements were being monitored using a night-vision camera which was dropped inside the borewell.

On Thursday, the rescuers had tried to pull out the child with the help of a net, but had to shelve the plan after facing some difficulties.

The child, identified as Nadim, was playing with some friends who were plucking fruits from a tree when he suddenly fell into the borewell. Afterwards, the family members and the villagers informed the police.

The child's father is a labourer.

Earthmovers, drilling machines and other equipment have been pressed into service to rescue the child, even as oxygen tubes were dropped to help him breathe. Biscuits and juices are being supplied to the child.A medical team had also been deployed at the incident site.

Deputy Commissioner Ashok Kumar Meena had earlier said legal action will be taken against the person who dug the borewell without taking any permission from the department concerned.

He said that a survey would also be carried out in the district to find out how many borewells had been left open and could pose danger.

The accident has again brought to the fore the dangers posed by uncovered borewells, which have turned into death traps for children.

In 2006, a massive operation was launched to rescue five-year-old Prince, who had fallen into a borewell in a village in Kurukshetra. He was pulled out safely nearly 48 hours later.