Haryana: Infant falls into 60-ft borewell, rescue operations underway

Chandigarh, Mar 22: Massive rescue operations continued late into the night on Thursday after an 18-month-old child fell into a 60 feet deep borewell in Haryana's Balsamand village, officials said.

A team of Army experts and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials are being assisted by civil and police authorities as the rescue efforts continued for 24 hours after the infant fell into the borewell on Wednesday evening.

The authorities have also started digging a parallel well, about 20 feet away from the borewell, and also plans to dig a tunnel to bring out the child safely, they said.

The child's movements are being monitored by a Night Vision Camera which had been dropped inside the borewell.

During the day, the rescuers tried to pull out the child with the help of a net, but had to shelve the plan after facing some difficulties, officials said.

"The rescue operations are still on. We are hoping to bring out the child safely. NDRF personnel and Army experts are being assisted by local authorities. The child's movements are being monitored and he is safe," Hisar Deputy Superintendent of Police, Joginder Singh said.

According to a local, the child, identified as Nadim, was playing with some friends when he suddenly fell into the borewell. His family members and villagers later informed the police.

The child's father is a labourer. Earthmovers and other equipment have been pressed into service, even as oxygen tubes were dropped to help the child to breathe. Biscuits and juices are being supplied to the child. A medical team has also been deployed at the incident site, they said.

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

The accident has once 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 5-year-old Prince, who had fallen into a borewell in a village in Kurukshetra. He was pulled out safely nearly 48 hours later.