48 hrs on, Hisar child rescued from borewell

Sushil Manav
Tribune news service
Chandigarh, March 22

Nearly 48 hours after he fell into a 60-foot-deep borewell at Balsamad village of Hisar, 18-month-old Nadeem was today rescued by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army personnel.

Edit: No more death traps

“The child is safe and healthy. The doctors have given him glucose drip and are keeping him under close watch. But there is nothing to worry, as he is hale and hearty,” Hisar Deputy Commissioner Ashok Meena said.

Nadeem had fallen into the borewell while playing near his house on Wednesday evening. A farmer had got that borewell dug to install the tubewell, but it had been left open for the past some days. The authorities said the rescue operations took long because they did not want to take any risks with the safety of the child. 

“As the rescuers reached close to the spot where the child was trapped, digging by machines was stopped and was carried out manually to ensure that soil did not fall over the infant,” they said. Earlier, the rescue teams had started digging a parallel well about 20 feet away from the borewell and later, a tunnel was dug to bring out the child safely. 

The child’s movements were monitored using a night-vision camera which was dropped inside the borewell. 

Villagers said Nadeem was playing with some friends who were plucking fruits from a tree when he suddenly fell into the borewell. The child’s father is a labourer. 

Earthmovers, drilling machines and other equipment were used to rescue the child, even as oxygen tubes were dropped to help him breathe. Biscuits and juices were supplied to the child. 

A medical team had also been deployed at the incident site. Yesterday, the child had taken a Frooti drink sent to him in the borewell. Meena said that legal action will be taken against the person who dug the borewell without taking any permission from the government. He said a survey would also be carried out in the district to find out how many borewells had been left open and could pose danger. 

Past, present danger

The accident has again brought into focus the dangers posed by uncovered borewells. A massive operation was launched in 2006 to rescue five-year-old Prince, who had fallen into a borewell in a village in Kurukshetra. He was also pulled out safely after nearly 48 hours.