3 days on, 3-year-old stuck in TN borewell

Tiruchirapalli (TN), October 28

A heavy, German-made drilling machine has been deployed to dig a parallel shaft to reach a 3-year-old boy stuck in an abandoned borewell at a depth of 88 feet for the last 77 hours, but rescue efforts were hampered by rocky soil and rain, officials said Monday.

As operations stretched into the fourth day, the sleepy village of Nadukattupatti, about 40 km from here, was teeming with people from neighbouring villages to witness the elaborate  rescue efforts for the boy who fell into the disused farm borewell while playing near his house at 5.30 pm on Friday.

Rescuers have been digging another parallel shaft since Sunday to reach an appropriate depth to get to the boy, and now a heavy Larsen and Tubro drilling machine of German make, equipped with tungsten carbide tipped teeth, has been deployed to expedite the efforts, said Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan.

The abandoned borewell's diameter is very narrow and the boy is trapped in rocky soil, he told reporters in Nadukattupatti.

Initially, efforts were made to rescue the boy by using "clamping," technology involving tailor- made equipment, but that failed, he said. Extra care needs to be taken and the drilling cannot be rushed since there are chances of the abandoned borewell getting closed completely due to vibrations, he said, adding that this remains a key challenge. — PTI