Boy falls into 220-foot-deep borewell in Haryana's Ambala; rescue operation on

Ambala, Jun 30 (PTI) A four-year-old boy fell into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in a village here on Tuesday, with a multi-agency operation underway to rescue the child, officials said.

A camera has been lowered into the approximately 9-inch wide borewell to monitor the boy and rescue personnel are trying to pull him out using a rope, they said.

NDRF, SDRF and Army personnel are at the spot for the rescue operation which has gone on for over eight hours.

The incident occurred when Nirbhay, a resident of Dhaneora village in Ambala district, had gone to the fields early morning with his father to deliver food to his grandfather. While playing, the child slipped and fell into the open borewell.

On receiving information about it, Deputy Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar and other administrative officials arrived at the scene.

Rescue operations were initiated by teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Army, officials said.

DC Tomar said the incident took place at around 6.30 am, highlighting that the borewell has a diameter of approximately nine inches.

The NDRF was on-site with specialised equipment, and the Army had also been requested for assistance, he said, adding that the operation is underway.

Nirbhay's grandfather, Karnail Singh, had gone to work in the fields early in the morning, while Nirbhay's father, Manjit, later set out to bring food to him. Nirbhay insisted on accompanying his father, who agreed to take him along.

Once they arrived at the field, Manjit began working, and his grandfather started to eat. Nirbhay sat near his grandfather, but soon began to play. While playing, the child spotted the open borewell and started throwing soil into it. The wet soil around the borewell likely caused him to slip and fall in while looking down.

Manjit explained that a loud noise caught their attention. They immediately rushed to the borewell and called out for Nirbhay.

Initially, the child's father, grandfather, and nearby residents attempted to rescue him themselves. When those efforts proved unsuccessful, they alerted the authorities at around 7.30 am.

Last month, a similar incident took place in Punjab's Hoshiarpur where a four-year-old boy had fallen into a newly dug borewell near his house. However, he was rescued after an around nine-hour-long operation involving multiple rescue agencies and local volunteers.

The boy was trapped inside the borewell at a depth of around 20 to 30 feet. PTI