72-hours on, 3-year-old remains stuck in TN borewell

Tiruchirapalli: The three-year-old boy, who fell into an abandoned borewell near here, is stuck at a depth of almost 100 feet over 72 hours after the incident occurred, as anxiety has risen over the child’s well-being with rescue efforts hampered by rocky soil and rain.
As operations stretched into the fourth day, the sleepy village of Nadukattupatti about 40 km from here, is teeming with people from several neighbouring villages to witness the rescue of the boy who fell into the used farm borewell while playing near his house at 5.30 pm on Friday.
Rescuers have been engaged in digging another borewell since Sunday to reach an appropriate depth to get to the boy and now a heavy drilling machine of German make has been deployed to expedite the efforts.
Explaining the challenges involved, Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan said without understanding the complexities involved questions were being raised about the rescue measures.
The child has fallen into an abandoned borewell the diameter of which is very narrow and the boy got trapped in rocky soil, he told reporters here.
Initially, efforts were made to rescue the boy by using “clamping,” technology involving tailor made equipment and that bid did not succeed, he said. (PTI)