Rescue efforts are still underway to save a three-year-old girl who fell into a 700-foot-deep borewell in Rajasthan’s Kotputli-Behror district more than 68 hours ago. To reach the child, a 160-foot-deep pit is being dug to create a tunnel. On Thursday at 6 a.m., a second piling machine was brought in to accelerate the process. Rescue teams are working to reach the required depth, after which a specialized team of "rat miners" from Uttarakhand will dig a horizontal tunnel toward the borewell.
District Collector Kalpana Agarwal visited the site late Wednesday night to review the operation. Yogesh Meena, in charge of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), reported that progress was hindered at 155 feet by a stone, which required changing the piling machine's bit.
Digging resumed and has now reached 160 feet, with an additional 10 feet to be excavated before manual horizontal digging can begin. This phase involves digging an 8-9-foot tunnel to reach the borewell and rescue the child, Chetna. Authorities hope to complete the operation soon.
The operation has faced logistical challenges, including the need to remove several electricity poles to accommodate the large piling machine. Chetna fell into the borewell while playing near her home in Badiyali ki Dhani, Kotputli, on Monday at around 2 p.m.
Initial rescue attempts using improvised tools were unsuccessful. For the past two days, no movement has been detected on the camera monitoring Chetna, who has been trapped without food or water, heightening concerns and frustration among her family and the local villagers.
Despite the delays, the district administration remains hopeful of a successful rescue, with the rat miners’ team leader expressing confidence. "We successfully rescued workers from the Uttarakhand tunnel accident," he said. The rat miners, who had been closely following the operation on TV, reached Kotputli on Thursday morning after SDM Brijesh Chaudhary requested their help.
.jpg)
Comment List