Rocky soil hampers efforts on day four of rescue operation

After personnel and experts from various agencies and institutes, who used a range of equipment from a rudimentary noose to the state-of-the-art rig drilling machine, failed in their relentless pursuit to rescue Sujith Wilson, the two-year-old boy who got stuck in a narrow six-inch hellhole on Friday last, a last-ditch effort will be undertaken by two farmers from Punjab. The duo, who has reportedly rescued children from such dire situation in their home state, are on the way to the spot at the time of going to press.

“All efforts are in place to try and prevent the soil from getting loosened. The rescue operations will not be called off at any cost. There will be no let-up in the efforts. At the same time, we don’t want to give any false hope to the parents,” Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan said and added that the parents  were being counselled.

Britto Arockiaraj Wilson, Sujith’s father, said he was aware that the little boy may not be returned to him alive and he doesn’t have the heart to face his wife. As operations stretched into the fourth day, Nadukattupatti village is teeming with people from neighbouring villages to witness the elaborate efforts.

Rescuers have been digging a parallel shaft since Sunday to reach an appropriate depth to get to the boy, and now a heavy drilling machine of German make, equipped with tungsten carbide tipped teeth, has been deployed to expedite the efforts, said Radhakrishnan. Two Fire and Rescue Services personnel have been lowered into the freshly drilled shaft using a ladder and with all necessary support like oxygen for initial assessment of the condition inside, officials  said.

At least 25,130 borewells in the State are not in use and these borewells have the potential to trap children like two-year-old Sujith, who has been trapped in an abandoned borewell for more than three days in Nadukattupatti village, Tiruchy district.

According to the fifth minor irrigation census released by the central government in November 2017, there are 4,42,848 borewells in the State. Out of which, 25,130 are not in use. Out of the 4.42 lakh borewells, more than 50 per cent are deep tube wells with a depth of more than 300 feet. Repeat incidents of children falling into abandoned borewells in Tamil Nadu had prompted the state government to notify rules early in 2015, mandating safety measures, including filling discarded wells upto ground level.

While officials and relatives have been able to pacify other members of Sujith’s family, the two-year-old’s mother has been inconsolable. Weak with anxiety, Kala Mary has lying unconscious on a mat in her house and been murmuring the boy’s name constantly, asking people to return her son to her. Karur MP PS Jothimani, who has been keeping her company, was speaking to DT Next when Kala regained consciousness and asked about her son’s condition. After she came to know that Sujith was yet to rescued, she swooned and was helped by her relatives.  Kala would often ask the people around her to take her to the site where Sujith was stuck. The relatives have often relented. Helping her to the spot to observe the rescue operations, only to take her back to the house for some rest. “The family took care of Sujith so well. Kala was always attentive towards him as he was a naughty child,” said P Yovan, Kala’s brother. Kala had run to rescue Sujith as soon as she heard that he had fallen into the borewell. She also saw the baby screaming as he slipped deeper into the well. “She is not able to come out of the shock,” Yovan said.

At the end of the third day after Sujith fell into the borewell, his father Britto Arockiaraj Wilson was aware that he may have to accept that his son may not return to him alive.

“I realised this the second day itself. When officials said that they could not hear the breathing vibration, I understood the condition of my little boy. But, I have no courage to face my wife”, Britto told DT Next. He said that he had covered the borewell soon after it dried up. But, he had used mud and the rain had washed some of it away while the rest fell inside the borewell. “I did not know that it was uncovered and it was hidden from view by the maize crop. If I had known about it, I would not have lost my son”, said Britto trying to hold back tears.

The efforts to save Sujith from the unused borewell could have met with success if only the rescue personnel were alerted on time, said senior officials.

As per the information they gathered during enquiries, it was revealed that the boy was initially trapped at a depth of only five feet, and the alert was sent to officials only after the attempts failed and the child slipped further. “The boy was initially trapped at a depth of five feet. Instead of informing the rescue officials, they tried rescuing him. This led to the boy sliding down further and settling at a point around 18 feet,” said Tiruchy district Collector S Sivarasu. Officials added that though the incident happened around 4.15 pm on Friday, the distress call to Fire and Rescue Services was made only at 5.45 pm, but which time the situation had become much direr.

After they realised that the boy had fallen into the abandoned borewell, three families from the neighbourhood tried to rescue him immediately. However, their efforts proved futile – perhaps even counterproductive, as the boy slipped down further – following which they decided to seek help from the officials. An official from the Fire and Rescue team said this proved to be an important factor, as the boy was conscious and talking in the initial period, which could have made the attempts to rescue him from the home much easier. Since then, Sujith slid down many times even as the rescue efforts were on.

Daniel, a team head from Tiruchy involved with the rescue operation said that Sujith could have been rescued when he was stuck at 22 feet only if he was given a free reign. Too many people trying to help, in fact hindered the operation, he said.

Daniel was part of the rescue efforts since Friday and had locked one of Sujith’s arms, but had failed to lock the other. Teams from various parts of the State were allowed to try and lock the other hand, but in vain. “I had rescued a baby in Arani who was stuck at 45 feet in a borewell and it had taken me less than 20 minutes. We have done similar work in Karur and Madurai. If we were allowed to work on our own, we could have rescued Sujith,” said Daniel.

In the Wilson family, Sujith is not the first one to have fallen into a well. His uncle, who was in the army, too had fallen into a well while trying to rescue a hen, four months ago.

John Peter (35) was a cousin of Sujith’s father. He was deployed at Pathancot in Punjab and was home in Nadukattipatti for his annual holiday in May when the incident occurred.

There is a 70-foot deep open well near John’s house. On June 4, John found out that a hen had fallen into the well. Soon, he tied a rope around his waist and climbed down the well. He reached the bird and began to climb up. He was almost at the mouth of the well when the rope snapped and John fell down. He died on the spot after sustaining a severe head injury. He was survived by wife Josephine Mary (30) and a five-year-old son.