Punjab: 90 hours and counting, toddler still stuck in borewell

Public Works Department (PWD) minister in the Punjab government, Vijay Inder Singla, on Monday said the rescue of the two-year child who fell in a borewell is being done manually in lack of other options.

"The rescue work is being done manually because the soil type does not permit machines to be used. There is no machinery available which can help retrieve the child at this stage. For the past three-four days, we along with the people are trying their level best to recover the child safely," Singla told reporters here.

Singla refused to comment on the condition of the two-year-old, Fatehveer Singh, who is still stuck inside the 150-feet borewell and added it was a matter of time before the child would be rescued.

 

"I cannot comment on the condition of the child, that is for the doctors to say. A fully equipped medical team is here to take the child to the hospital, at this point it is just a matter of time. We are praying the child comes out safe and sound," he said.

The two-year-old boy fell into an abandoned 150-foot borewell on Thursday afternoon outside his house. In the joint operation, the NDRF and local administration are digging a parallel pit to rescue the child named Fatehveer Singh and have reportedly dug up to 120 feet.

There is not enough space in the 9-inch diameter borewell for the child to make any movements. However, a movement in his body was noticed at wee hours on Saturday, almost 40 hours after the incident.

The authorities are keeping vigil over the child through a small surveillance camera and he is being provided oxygen supply through pipes inside the borewell.

The team though have not been able to provide him with any juices or food as his face is covered with a jute bag over which he stepped and fell into the borewell.

Earlier, a team of NDRF had tried to pull out the child with the help of rope but the attempt failed.

"Parallel digging is going on to retrieve the child struck at 110 foot," said Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori on Sunday. "It's illegal to keep unused borewell open like this but right now we are concentrating on rescuing the child safely and it is our priority," he had said.