In a tragic incident, a 14-month-old baby girl fell into an abandoned borewell in Ekkareddyguda village near Chevella mandal in Ranga Reddy district on Thursday night.
While some reports suggest that the pit was 60-feet-deep, others suggest that it is closer to 40 feet.
The Cyberabad police and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed to the spot, even as officials from the district administration joined in.
Reports state that the baby has been identified as Veena, the daughter of a migrant labourer Yadaiah, who fell into the hole at around 7.30 pm.
“The girl accidentally fell into the open agriculture borewell when she was with father. It is dark and efforts are on to get her out of the borewell with the help of lights…we are working,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Chevella Division) Sruta Keerthi told PTI on Thursday night.
The Times of India reported that locals who gathered at the spot, could hear screams of the girl, which confirmed that the baby was still alive after she fell into the hole.
“The kid is alive. We could see her hands. As a first step, oxygen is being pumped into the borewell to ensure she breathes easily,” State Transport Minister P. Mahender Reddy told The Hindu.
The report stated that Reddy was attending an iftar nearby, and rushed to the location upon hearing the news.
Twelve hours after she fell in, rescue operations are still underway at the time of writing this report, with earth-moving machines digging a parallel pit near the borewell.
The Balala Hakkula Sangham, an NGO, demanded that criminal cases be booked against the revenue officials concerned.
Further details are awaited.
#Visuals from Telangana: 18-months-old girl fell into a 40-feet open borewell in Vikarabad's Ikkareddiguda. Rescue operations underway. pic.twitter.com/aYK73qM511
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 22, 2017
Watch a video of the rescue operations on Thursday night below.