Two-Year-Old Rescued From Open Borewell After 11-Hour Operation

The boy, identified as Chandrashekar, fell into the borewell in Ummidivaram on Tuesday.

(Photo: The News Minute)

A two-year-old boy who fell into an open borewell in Andhra Pradesh, was saved after a 11-hour rescue operation near Vinukonda, in Guntur district, in the early hours of Wednesday.

Chandrashekar fell into the borewell in Ummidivaram on Tuesday, and was reported to be stuck at a depth of 20-feet in the borewell.

An entire team from the National Disaster Response Force (NRDF) was deployed in Andhra's Mangalgiri district to rescue the boy.

Rescue workers pulled out the shocked child and immediately rushed him to doctors who were on stand by. Visuals show Chandrashekar getting basic treatment, even as he looks around traumatised by the incident.

Commander D N Singh from the NDRF told TV9, "We followed standard procedure. We used the borewell rescue robot first. We stabilised the location of the baby, and then began parallel digging of another hole. Then we inserted a rod and further stabilised the borewell pit so the baby doesn't slip down."

We then used a chipping hammer to widen the borewell pit, and rescued the baby.

The boy’s parents were identified as Mallikarjun and Anusha and are agricultural labourers allegedly.

According to local media reports, the non-functioning 200-feet borewell was covered with a sack and was stacked with grass on top. The boy accidentally fell into the borewell while playing on the grass.

Following this, personnel of the NDRF, police and other rescue workers were pressed into service to rescue him.

The rescue workers dug a crater parallel to the borewell, even as others inserted oxygen tubes into the pit to help the child breathe. They were using cameras to ascertain the depth at which he was stuck.

Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao, District Collector Kona Sasidhar, and senior police officials reached the spot on Tuesday night, and supervised the operation.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had also spoken to district officials over the phone and directed them to take necessary measures to rescue the child.

Open borewells are a matter of concern in Andhra and its neighbouring state of Telangana.

Two months ago, 18-month-old Chinnari died in the bowels of an open borewell in Telangana's Ranga Reddy district.

Chinnari fell into the 450-ft deep borewell, while playing with her elder sister and other children in Chenvel village, about 55km from Hyderabad.

After a rescue operation that lasted for three days, the 18-month-old baby was found dead at a depth of 180 feet.

Following this, the state police arrested Malla Reddy, identified as the owner of the land who dug the borewell. However, within hours of being arrested, Reddy secured bail.

(This article was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission)