After 30 hrs, hope fades as Sujith slips further into well
SDRF, NDRF teams join rescue efforts despite setback in operations after mud falls on the boy’s head causing him to slip to nearly 100 feet
TIRUCHY: Nearly 30 hours after rescue operations were on to rescue two-year-old Sujith Wilson, who accidentally fell into an abandoned borewell near Manaparai district in Tiruchy district, authorities suffered a setback as the boy slipped further. The child was initially stuck at a depth of 25 feet but drifted further to over 90 feet on Saturday evening.
Earlier on Saturday, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined in the rescue efforts. Officials were earlier optimistic about rescuing the boy on Friday evening, but around 3 am on Saturday, the boy slipped 70 feet deeper due to vibration caused by the earth moving machines. This also caused mud to fall on the boy.
A team of experts from IIT-M which arrived around 4 am continued to monitor the boy with their equipment and the team heard him breathing till 5 am. “We could hear the child weeping.. for a long time, but now we cannot hear,” an official said. Oxygen is being continuously supplied to the boy. Authorities said they were unable to assess the boy’s condition because of the layers of wet mud around him. A parallel hole (90 feet deep) would be dug at a distance of 3 metre from the well and two Fire and Rescue personnel would climb down and try to reach Sujith through the tunnel made between the well. “It may take at least four hours from now,” an official said.
Mother faints, father silent
Kala Mary, Sujith’s mother, who repeated called out to her son and expressed confidence that he would be rescued, fainted when she heard he had slipped deeper into the well. She was given medical attention by the team stationed nearby. Earlier, Kala Mary was the picture of courage and fortitude when she was seen stitching a cloth bag to help rescue her child. A member of the team suggested that a cloth bag could be used to lift the child, so she immediately sat in front of her sewing machine and started to make the bag herself. A picture of her working at the machine went viral winning praise from across the country. The boy’s father, Britto Arockiaraj, who was earlier heard appealing to officials to rescue his son, remained silent from morning.
CHENNAI: Public took to social media praying for the safe recovery of two-year-old boy Sujith Wilson, who fell into a borewell at Mannaparai in Tiruchy. The hashtag #savesujith and #prayforsujith is still trending on social media. “#prayforsujith #savesujith Listen to His Cry! When You guys Have Equipment to Take
Methane Gas From 1,000ft, Why Don’t You Have Equipment to Rescue This Child from Just 70ft? tweeted Asha Janu. People also shared ideas to use alternative equipments by drawing diagrams to save the kid. The boy fell into a borewell on Friday, and for more than 28 hours the rescue work is on progress to save the boy.