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Rescue ops UPDATE: Rig reaches 65 feet as toddler remains stuck in borewell on Day 4
75-hours on, the 2-year-old boy remains stuck in borewell, rescue efforts slowed down by rocky soil. Once the rig reaches past 98 feet, rescue personnel will enter the pit, burrow a tunnel to the borewell to pull Sujith out.
Chennai
Rescue efforts to safely bring out the two-year-old boy who fell into an abandoned borewell in a village in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli district prolonged through the fourth day on Monday.
The two-year-old boy is stuck at a depth of almost 100 feet over 75 hours after the incident occurred, as anxiety has risen over the child's well-being with rescue efforts hampered by rocky soil and rain.
Rescue operation in Nadukattupatti village continues after it was paused due to repair of the second drilling rig. Three drilling holes have been dug so far, and six holes are to be dug totally after which the drilling rig will be used to reach the kid. A heavy drilling machine of German make from Larsen and Tubro with "tungsten carbide tipped teeth," has been deployed to expedite the efforts.
‘Save Sujith Wilson’ is the prayer slogan in hearts of people of Tamil Nadu since the little kid fell down into the borewell on Friday evening. Several rescuing techniques and teams from different parts of Tamil Nadu has been brought, tried and executed by the state government in the past hours, all not completely successful.
Amid several natural hindrances like the rocky terrain, slippery mud as a result of mild rain, the rescue team has put its blood and soul in the mission to save Sujith Wilson.
Key government representatives including Commissioner of Revenue Administration Radhakrishnan, Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, TMC party Chief GK Vasan and Deputy CM O Paneerselvam addressed the media from the spot, sharing their observations and delivering the current updates.
UPDATE:Â
O Paneerselvam visits spot
TN Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam visited the rescue operation site where efforts are underway to rescue the toddler who fell into a borewell in Nadukattupatti. He said that unused deep wells throughout Tamil Nadu will be closed immediately to prevent such incidents in the future.
Panneerselvam's son and Theni Lok Sabha MP OP Raveendranath Kumar also visited the site.
The Deputy Chief Minister also met the child's parents and consoled them. Later, he sat on the rescue site to monitor the situation.
TN CM briefs PM Modi on rescue efforts
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his prayers are with the three-year-old Sujith, trapped in an abandoned borewell since Friday near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, saying every effort is underway to rescue him.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Monday said he had briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the rescue efforts to save two-year-old Sujith Wilson who had fallen into an abandoned borewell.
In a tweet, Palanaiswami said he had briefed Modi about the rescue efforts underway to save the boy who fell into an unused borewell in Nadukattupatti village in Tiruchirappalli district. The CM said three Ministers have been deputed along with Fire and Rescue services, National and state disaster response force teams.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar, who is camping at the site, said the new borewell being drilled will help a person reach down and rescue the child.Â
"The rescue efforts will not be abandoned. The rocky terrain prevents faster boring. The rig is drilling about 280-500 cm per hour," J.Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation department told reporters.
Radhakrishnan said, it may take about 12 hours to dig about 100 ft. After that a horizontal tunnel will be burrowed to get to the borewell to reach the boy.Â
The new drilling machine brought is said to be stronger and have the ability to drill even the rocky surface. According to reports, stronger blades that can break rocks are being sent from Chennai to be fitted in the rig.
When DT NEXT spoke to J Radhakrishnan, Commissioner of Revenue Administration, he said that rescue operations are being carried out with full force and they are hoping to reach Sujith as soon as possible.Â
The child had fallen into the borewell while playing near his house at Nadukattupatti on Friday evening around 5.30 p.m. and got stuck at 30-ft and rescue efforts began soon after that.
Later that night, he fell further down to about 90 ft.
On Saturday, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) took over the rescue operation as other techniques used to take the boy out of the borewell have failed.
Initially, earth-moving equipment was pressed into service to dig a pit near the borewell to reach the boy. But, it was stopped midway as the terrain was rocky. Besides, it was felt that this process could cause vibrations that may loosen the soil inside the borewell, thereby slipping the boy further down. Efforts were made to rescue the boy by using "clamping," technology involving tailor made equipment and that bid did not succeed. Several teams with their own technologies have tried to rescue the boy, but all that has so far failed.
Monitoring through cameras indicate that the child is trapped at a depth of about 88 feet and some soil has fallen on him. The child is in a "stablilised location," and this point of space has been airlocked to prevent the boy from going further down.
Thousands of people have been praying for the well-being of the boy and have been joined by celebrities and politicians.
National and State Disaster unit personnel, Fire and Rescue Services personnel are on stand by.
In view of occasional mild showers, the location has been covered with tarpaulin sheets.
Leaders of political parties including MDMK chief Vaiko and local Congress MP Jothimani are also at the spot.
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