RESCUE MISSION TO SAVE TODDLER
Trapped inside 550-footdeep well for 4 days
Sujith Wilson fell into the abandoned well in Tamil Nadu while playing with his friends
Wilson first fell between 25 and 30 feet into the well, then proceeded to slip a further 100 feet
Sujith Wilson fell into the abandoned well in Tamil Nadu while playing with his friends last Friday, the BBC reported. As of Sunday night he had fainted, but is still breathing, India’s Deccan Chronicle news agency reported.
Wilson first fell between 25 and 30 feet into the well, then proceeded to slip a further 100 feet, according to reports by the Deccan Chronicle and The Independent. It’s not clear when and how Wilson slipped, and how far deep into the well he is now.
India’s National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force have both deployed teams to rescue the toddler, the Deccan Chronicle reported.
Emergency rescuers are employing a variety of innovative strategies in their attempts to get him out.
Wilson’s mother has stitched a cloth bag for rescue officials who hope to hoist the boy out of the well with it, tweeted Jayakumar Madala, a reporter at The New Indian Express.
Earlier attempts to bring the toddler out with a rope had failed, the BBC reported.
Emergency workers are also using a rig machine to drill a second hole parallel to the well, The Independent and Deccan Chronicle reported.
Rescuers hope to send someone down the parallel shaft, dig a tunnel parallel to the boy, and bring him back up, the outlets said.
The initial drilling machine used to dig this parallel hole had been damaged by the hard rocks in the ground, and was replaced by the rig machine on Sunday, the Deccan Chronicle said.
Rescuers are also checking on Wilson and assessing his breathing through a camera lowered into the well, the BBC reported, citing officials who spoke to local media.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his prayers for Wilson on Monday, noting that “every effort is being made to ensure that he is safe.”