UP: 20-hour rescue operation fails to save boy trapped in borewell in Mahoba

KANPUR: The four-year-old boy who fell into a 60-foot deep uncovered borewell in Budhaura village in Kulpahad police area in Bundelkhand’s Mahoba district on Wednesday could not survive. His body was recovered by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) after a 20-hour-long operation on Thursday. A borewell is a narrow shaft drilled into the ground to extract water.
Ghanendra, the son of Bhagirath Kushwaha of Budhaura village, had fallen into the borewell when he was playing with his sister Rekha while their father was irrigating the fields.The incident had occurred at around 1 pm on Wednesday.
Later, a parallel pit was being dug to reach Ghanendra, and oxygen, besides biscuits and water being supplied to him. Doctors at the district hospital said he could have been dead for at least 6 hours before his body was taken out of the borewell.
“We have examined the child and we found that it has been more than six hours since the child is dead,” said Dr Gulsher Ahmad medical in-charge district hospital.
The SDRF team that arrived from Lucknow used specialised equipment to dig a pit parallel to the borewell in which the boy had fallen. They also lowered cameras into the borewell to check for any signs of movement or life. The team finally pulled the boy out at around 8:45 on Thursday morning and rushed him to the district hospital where he was declared dead by the doctors.
The borewell into which the child fell was dug by the boy’s father in July to try and find water for their fields. However, it was left abandoned after no sign of water was found there.
“We are sorry about the passing of the boy. Our condolences to his grieving parents and his family. Best technically possible measure was being adopted to rescue the child, but unfortunately, the boy couldn’t be saved. As part of the operation, a parallel pit was dug along the borewell hole with the help of six JCB machines and oxygen was supplied into it and a camera was also used to locate the boy, but the efforts went in vain. SDRF members, police personnel and firemen toiled hard all throughout the night and also consulted experts,” said district magistrate Satyendra Kumar.
Prayers were also held by the villagers in the temple for safe rescue of the toddler. A pall of gloom meanwhile descended on the village following the boy’s death.
Ghanendra, besides two sisters, was the only son of his parents. The body was later handed over to the parents. The body was laid to rest in the village.
According to the officials, the borewell into which the boy fell has been closed and the hole drilled near it to rescue the boy would also be closed soon.