The boy, Sujith Wilson, was apparently playing close to his house when he slipped and fell into an abandoned borewell

Hectic efforts to rescue a two-year-old boy who fell into an abandoned borewell continued late into the night at Nadukattupatti near Manapparai in Tiruchi district on Friday.

The boy, Sujith Wilson, was apparently playing when he slipped and fell into a seven-year-old borewell hole, in front of his house, at around 5.30 p.m.

On being alerted, Fire and Rescue Services personnel from Manapparai, Salem and Namakkal rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation with the help of locals.

A tube was dropped into the borewell to supply oxygen even as an earthmover was deployed to dig a trench close to the borewell. Rescue workers hoped to reach the boy by digging a tunnel but the process was suspended apparently due to rocky terrain.

Special device

M.Manikandan, who had designed a device specifically for such rescue operations, arrived with his equipment from Madurai later in the evening. He along with other rescue workers began an operation to rescue the child using the device, which had been successfully used in similar operations earlier.

Guided by Mr. Manikandan and Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar, the rescue operations continued till late into the night. The boy's uncle kept talking to the weeping boy till late in the evening. The entire village of over 1,000 people gathered to watch the operation with anxiety.

The borewell hole, said to be about 35-feet deep, was in a corn field and had reportedly been closed. It was probably opened after recent spells of heavy rain.

Rescue operation underway at Nadukattupatti near Manapparai in Tiruchi district where a two-year-old boy slipped and fell into a borewell, Friday, October 25, 2019 | Photo Credit: M. Moorthy

A. Josephine, Sujith's aunt, told The Hindu that four boys, including her son, had been playing in front of her house when the incident occurred. “Sujith had gone back home but decided to come back from in between the corn field. The borewell, which was among the crops, gave away,” she said. The family alerted the police after hearing cries from the borewell.

Tourism Minister Vellamandi N.Natarajan, Collector S.Sivarasu and Superintendent of Police Ziaul Haq were camping at the spot to coordinate the rescue operation.

As the operation was telecast live on television, the hash tag #save sujith was trending on Twitter as netizens prayed for the safety of the child.