Infant trapped in Punjab borewell for over 40 hours

Chandigarh, June 8 (IANS) A massive operation continued for the third day on Saturday to rescue a two-year-old boy who fell into a 150-foot deep abandoned borewell in a village in Punjab's Sangrur district, officials said here.

A movement in his body was noticed at 5 a.m., almost 40 hours after the incident.

A parallel tunnel is being dig to reach the child, Fatehveer Singh, who is turning two on June 10, believed to be stuck at a depth of 110 feet in the borewell that has a nine-inch diameter, they said.

The parallel tunnel still needs digging of 45-50 feet and it is going manually as mechanical digging may lead to caving in of a large nearby portion, a rescuer told IANS on phone.

After digging the parallel tunnel, a passage to make access to the child would be made through another vertical tunnel, he said.

Adequate supply of oxygen inside the well is provided and a camera has been planted to keep a watch on the child. His movements were being monitored regularly, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori told reporters.

The child fell into the man-made structure on Thursday at around 4 p.m., officials said.

The rescue team, comprising 26 members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indian Army and district administration staff, has been involved in the day-and-night rescue operation at Bhagwanpura in Sunam subdivision.

An attempt was made earlier to pull out the child with the help of a rope. He has been tied with a rope to prevent his slipping down, a rescuer said.

The NRDF said this is one of toughest operations as the depth of the well where the child is trapped is abnormally high.

The borewell has been abandoned for over seven years. This was the second such incident in the region in less than three months.

After a 48-hour-long rescue operation, a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, who fell into a 70-foot narrow borewell in Haryana's Hisar district, was rescued on March 22.