Toddler dies after days stuck in 26-metre well
The rescue effort involved heavy machinery and hundreds of people. Photo: Twitter
A toddler has died after falling into a 30-metre-deep well in southern India and becoming trapped for days.
Hundreds of rescuers spent three days trying to save two-year-old Sujith Wilson, who fell into the 30-centimetre wide pipe on Friday afternoon (local time) while playing near his home in the Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu.
However, local media reported early on Tuesday that the toddler had tragically died.
The remains are being taken to Manapparai GH for postmortem,Post it, the body will handed to the family for last rites. The body of Sujith was recovered by a team of NDRF and SDRF using special equipment. says Collector. #SorrySujith #RIPSujith @xpresstn @NewIndianXpress
— Jayakumar Madala (@JayakumarMadala) October 28, 2019
Sujith had reportedly slipped about 7 metres down into the well at first, before falling further on Saturday. He was thought to be 30 metres down when the mammoth rescue effort began.
District fire officer Puru Gandhi said a camera had been lowered into the well to monitor the condition of Sujith.
My prayers are with the young and brave Sujith Wilson. Spoke to CM @EPSTamilNadu regarding the rescue efforts underway to save Sujith. Every effort is being made to ensure that he is safe. @CMOTamilNadu
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 28, 2019
Oxygen was pumped into the pit and rescue workers tried to drill a parallel shaft to get him out. Rescuers also tried to use robotic devices to lower ropes to attach to Sujith’s wrists but that didn’t work.
“It’s a race against time,” senior district officer Jawaharlal Nehru told AFP.
The state’s Commissioner for Disaster Management and Mitigation, J. Radhakrishnan, has told CNN that rescuers dug down to 14 metres before hitting rock. They then had to bring in bigger drilling equipment.
“We are not able to predict the nature (of the ground); it is full of rock,” Mr Radhakrishnan said.
https://twitter.com/RajuRabidas20/status/1188797798323388417
About 550 people were involved in the rescue attempt, Mr Radhakrishnan said, including workers from fire services, national and state disaster management agencies and the police.
Technical experts from mining and gas companies were also called in.
-with agencies
