Pulled out from borewell after 110 hours, two-year-old boy declared dead in Punjab's Sangrur

A two-year-old child, who had fallen into a 150-foot-deep unused borewell in Punjab’s Sangrur while playing, was declared dead after he was pulled out of it on Tuesday morning, after 110 hours of a frantic rescue operation.

The toddler was rushed to a hospital in an ambulance amid police security, but he passed away after the 110-hour-long ordeal. The child had been without food and water for the entire duration as the authorities could only manage to supply oxygen to the pit through the parallel rescue route they had dug up.

Fatehvir was declared dead soon after Sagrur Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori told the media they had successfully rescued him from the borewell. He was pulled out of the pit around 5.30 am by personnel of the National Disaster Response Force.

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh tweeted his condolence and said the state authorities were committed to take all steps to ensure that such incidents don’t recur in future.

Very sad to hear about the tragic death of young Fatehveer. I pray that Waheguru grants his family the strength to bear this huge loss. Have sought reports from all DCs regarding any open bore well so that such terrible accidents can be prevented in the future.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 11, 2019

The toddler was stuck in the seven-inch wide borewell at a depth of 125 feet. The only child of his parents who had turned two on Monday, he fell into the borewell in a field when he was playing in Bhagwanpura village around 4 pm on Thursday.

The borewell was covered with a cloth and the boy accidentally stepped on it. His mother tried to rescue him, but failed, officials said. A massive rescue operation was launched to bring the child safely out of the borewell.

A parallel borewell of 36 inches in diameter was dug to rescue the child. On Monday, there was anger among people against the district administration and the state government over the delay in rescuing Fatehvir.

A large number of people had assembled around the accident site and several of them raised slogans against the government. Villagers had also held protest and blocked the Sunam-Mansa road.

However, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that he was monitoring the situation and ordered state authorities to ensure no such borewells were left uncovered.

Have directed all DCs to ensure that no such open borewell exists in any of the districts & have asked them to submit a report within 24 hours. You can call on our helpline number 0172-2740397 if you have information about any such open borewells in your area.

— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) June 10, 2019

With inputs from PTI