Army to help rescue child stuck in Rajasthan borewell

Jaipur, Aug 9 (IANS) The army was Friday called in to speed up the rescue of a nine-year-old boy who fell into a 200-feet borewell Wednesday while flying a kite near his house in Rajasthan.

Police said the boy named Chhotu was flying a kite in Charda Kala village near Hindaun city in Karauli district, some 200 km from Jaipur, when he fell into the borewell around 3 p.m. Wednesday.

As the local administration failed to launch an effective rescue operation due to incessant rains, the army's help has been sought to speed up the operation.

The administration's rescue team has been able to dig a hole up to only 50 feet even as the boy is believed to be stuck around 130 feet down in the borewell.

"We have been digging a hole parallel to the borewell since Wednesday night. However, it is raining in the area. The work of digging had to be stopped from time to time. We have been able to dig up over 50 feet so far," said an administration officer.

Local residents said it has been over 50 hours since the boy fell into the borewell, and his chances of survival were diminishing.

Police said a closed-circuit camera has been lowered into the hole.

"A camera was lowered into the borewell and footage shows the boy struck at around 130 feet down in the borewell which has a width of only one feet. The borewell which is used to draw ground water had been left open. We have employed four JCB machines and earthmovers for digging land adjacent to the borewell," Station House Officer (Hindaun) Anoop Singh said Friday.

In a statement, defence spokesperson S.D. Goswami said the army was called in Friday, on being requisitioned by the civil authorities around 12.30 p.m.

"Army engineers from south western command will be reaching the site anytime now. The rescue mission troops are fully equipped with engineering equipment to carry out the assigned task," police said.

However, the boy's family members and villagers have accused the authorities of delaying the rescue operation due to lack of resources. They blocked a road in protest and demanded that the child be rescued soon.