Over 60 hours, Drilling underway as rescue ops continue to save Sujith Wilson trapped in borewell

Chennai, Oct 28: More than 60 hours after a two-year-old Sujith Wilson, fell down into a 25-feet deep borewell in Nadukattupatti of Tamil Nadu's Trichy district, rescue teams, including those from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have been unable to reach him.

Sujith, who fell into the borewell while playing near his house on October 25, was initially stuck at a depth of 35 feet but drifted further to over 70 feet with efforts to rescue him commencing last evening. Oxygen is being continuously supplied to the Sujith who has been trapped since 5.30 pm.

Authorities are now trying to dig a parallel tunnel then connect via a horizontal passage. The condition of the Sujith is not known; oxygen is being supplied but there are concerns because he has stopped responding to calls.

According to officials, six teams were involved in the rescue operations. "We could hear the child weeping.. for a long time. but now we cannot hear. But we feel the child is safe and breathing," the officials said.

Authorities said they were not able to assess the boy's condition because of the layers of wet mud around him. Specialised teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) joined the rescue operations at Nadukattupatti near here.

According to police, Sujith, who had been playing near the borewell, fell in at around 5.30 pm on Friday night. There are conflicting reports about the depth of the hole- some say it is 600 feet deep, while others say it is at least 1,000 feet.

State Health and Family Welfare Minister C Vijayabaskar, who has been camping at the site since Friday night, said all efforts were on to rescue the Sujith, adding there was no let-up in the operations. Vijayabaskar said even if the child was unconscious, he could be saved.

The operations continued as hundreds of people in the state prayed for the child with political leaders such as DMK president M K Stalin and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran joining them in wishing that the Sujith was rescued at the earliest.

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam visited the rescue operation site. His son and Theni Lok Sabha MP O P Raveendranath Kumar also accompanied the Deputy CM. The father and son duo is closely monitoring the situation.

South actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan has demanded the Tamil Nadu government make unsealed borewells an offence and impose hefty fines.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted, praying for Sujith to be "rescued and reunited with his distraught parents".

Meanwhile, devotees at the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai district have also offered prayers for Sujith's safety.

(with PTI inputs)