Ambala (Haryana), June 30
A massive multi-agency rescue operation is underway in Haryana's Ambala district after a four-year-old boy slipped into a 220-foot-deep open borewell on Tuesday morning.
A race against time is underway by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administration, and the Indian Army to save the child.
The child, identified as Nirbhay, fell into the approximately nine-inch-wide borewell in Dhanaura village under Barara around 6.30 a.m. while accompanying his father to the family's agricultural fields, officials said.
According to officials, Nirbhay's father, Manjit, had gone to deliver breakfast to the child's grandfather, Karnail Singh, who had been working in the fields since early morning.
The child was reportedly playing nearby while the adults were busy with work. Officials said he noticed the open borewell and began throwing handfuls of soil into it.
According to preliminary information, the ground around the borewell had become wet and slippery. While leaning forward to look inside, the child is believed to have lost his balance and fallen into the deep shaft.
As soon as they realised the child had fallen into the borewell, his father and grandfather rushed to the spot and repeatedly called out his name. Family members and villagers also made desperate attempts to rescue him, but the narrow opening of the borewell made it impossible to pull him out.
After local efforts failed, the authorities were informed at around 7.30 a.m., following which rescue agencies were immediately mobilised.
Within a short time, teams from the NDRF, SDRF and the district administration reached the site equipped with specialised rescue equipment. The Indian Army was also called in to assist in the rescue operation and provide additional heavy machinery.
Deputy Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar, who reached the spot to supervise the operation, said the rescue mission was particularly challenging because of the narrow diameter of the borewell.
Speaking to reporters, Tomar said, "The incident was reported around 6:30 a.m. A child named Nirbhay, aged around 3.5 to 4 years, had come to deliver food to his father. While his father was busy with work, the child was playing and fell into an open borehole with a diameter of about 9 inches. Based on our assessment, the child is trapped at a depth of around 220 feet."
He said specialised rescue equipment was being deployed while contingency plans were also being kept ready in case the initial rescue efforts did not succeed.
"Our emergency response team reached the spot immediately, and teams from the Army and NDRF have also arrived. The NDRF is using specialised equipment to rescue the child, while heavy equipment from the Army has also been requisitioned. Army's heavy equipment is also called in so that if current efforts fail, we will dig out a parallel one to rescue the child," Tomar said.
The Deputy Commissioner further stated that the borewell had reportedly been dug by the family's neighbours and had allegedly been left uncovered, resulting in the accident.
Rescue personnel continued to work round the clock to safely bring the child to the surface, with officials closely monitoring every stage of the operation.
Authorities said every possible effort is being made to rescue the child at the earliest, while further updates are awaited as the operation continues.
