Hubli: An abandoned open borewell has yet again trapped a child, this time in Sulikeri village of Bagalkot district on Sunday. The victim, a six-year-old boy, fell into a 350-foot deep borewell in a sugarcane field, dug up by his parents barely a fortnight ago. It was left negligently open after no water was found in it. The incident occurred at around 2 pm, when the boy had visited the field. He is reportedly stuck 160 feet below and the district administration has made arrangements to pump oxygen into the pit to prevent suffocation. The officials are also supervising the movement of the boy by inserting a camera into it.
Just one-and-a-half month after the tragic accident in which a four-year old girl died after falling into an open borewell in Nagathan village of Bijapur district, a similar incident has occurred in Sulikeri village of the adjacent Bagalkot district on Sunday. A six-year-old boy, Thimmanna Hatti, fell into an abandoned open borewell in a sugarcane field. His parents had dug a 350-feet deep borewell just a fortnight ago and carelessly left it open when they did not find water in it.
The incident occurred at around 2 pm when the boy visited their sugarcane field with his uncle. He fell into the well after slipping on the coconut tree leaves scattered around. Initially, the boy got stuck just 10-15 feet in the well and villagers heard his cries for help. Later, the shouts ceased to be heard after he dropped further down to around 160 feet deep.
The district administration acted swiftly and launched the rescue operation. The district health officials deployed emergency medical equipment and oxygen was pumped into the borewell with a cylinder to prevent suffocation. However, the effort was hampered for a few minutes after the oxygen pipe was broken when the boy tried to come up by grabbing the pipe. The officials are also keeping an eye on the movement of the boy by inserting a camera into the pipe.
The district in-charge minister S R Patil, and other officials rushed to the spot within two hours of the incident. Fire tenders and other rescue experts from Hatti Gold Mines of Raichur district, Pune, Madhurai and Hyderabad have also been alerted to reach the spot to assist the rescue operation.
The officials have also asked the ‘borewell robot’ to reach the spot. Two JCBs have also been pressed into service and the team has started to dig a parallel pit in an attempt to rescue the boy. Initially, the team had a tough time taking vehicles to the spot due to the standing sugarcane crop in the field.
“The boy is trapped around 160 feet deep. Rescue operations are being carried out on a war footing and I am optimistic that the administration will save the boy. The experts from National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) of Pune in Maharashtra and other teams from Hatti Gold Mines and Madurai will arrive at the spot very soon”, Bagalkot district in-charge minister S R Patil said.
Deputy Commissioner Meghannavar said that the medical team has noticed movement from the boy after oxygen started being provided. It may be recalled that earlier, four incidents of children falling into borewells have been reported in Bijapur, Bagalkot and Raichur districts during the last six years.
