A 12-hour-long rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) proved futile as 3-year-old Sai Vardhan, who accidentally fell into a borewell on Wednesday evening couldn’t be saved.
According to reports, the boy’s body was recovered at 4.30 am on Thursday. The boy appears to have asphyxiated to death. The body was shifted to a government hospital for autopsy.
On Wednesday, at around 5 pm, Sai Vardhan fell into an uncovered 120-feet borewell. The incident happened in Pochampally village in Papannapet mandal of Medak district when the boy accompanied his grandfather and father to their agriculture field. He remained stuck at 17-feet, according to officials.
The boy got too close to an uncovered borewell and slipped in. Family members initially tried to rescue him by using a sari, but in vain.
The borewell belonged to Bhikshapathi, grandfather of Sai Vardhan. Bhikshapathi had dug three borewells in the past one week, according to the family. However, none of them yielded water.
The boy's father, Govardhan, earlier told the media, “The boy was adamant and insisted on coming to the site while we were closing the borewells. He stood on the mound on the borewells and slipped into it," Govardhan said. The boy's father was around when the incident happened. "It happened in front of our eyes," Govardhan had said.
After learning about the incident, senior district and police officials rushed to the spot to monitor rescue operations and were using cameras inside the borewell to locate the boy. An NDRF team later reached the spot tand joined the rescue efforts.
On Wednesday night, it was reported that oxygen was being supplied into the 120-feet open borewell and earth excavation machines had been pressed into service to dig a hole parallel to the borewell.
Speaking to the media, Medak MLA Padma Devender said, “Those who dig up borewells should act responsibly and close them if they don't get any water. These incidents should reoccur.”
In 2017, in a similar incident, a two-year-old girl Veena had fallen into a 450-feet borewell and couldn't be rescued despite efforts by the NDRF and other agencies. The rescue operation was carried out for nearly 60-hours, and despite supplying oxygen, the two-year-old did not survive. Her decomposed body was later retrieved.