From gadgets to gods, all efforts on to rescue trapped toddler
TIRUCHY: The frantic efforts to rescue two-year-old Sujith Wilson from the borewell received a serious reversal after the loose mud fell on him, pushing him deeper into the well, said Tiruchy Collector S Sivarasu, who had been camping at the spot since Friday.
That was a big setback for the rescue team, as they could hear him breathing till he was at a depth of 70 feet. “But we are still continuing the operation with hope,” the Collector said.
Earlier, the officials were optimistic that the boy could be rescued through a joint operation by Manikandan from Madurai, Daniel from Tiruchy, Sridhar from Coimbatore and Venkatesh from Palladam in Tirupur. Their plan was to lock both the hands of the boy with a strong hook and lift him. But, they could only lock one his hands. It became further complicated at 3 am after Sujith slipped deeper into 70 feet due to the vibration caused by the earth movers.
The attempts to lock the other hand failed thrice, and around 4 am, wet mud fell on him, which spread despair among the rescuers.
The expert team from IIT Madras, who arrived around 4 am on Saturday, could hear the boy breathing till 5 am. But, around 6 am, they failed to sense any movement, but continued with their efforts. Making their efforts more difficult than it already was, wet mud continued to fall on the boy, said officials.
After all their attempts turned futile, the officials sought help from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Around noon on Saturday, a 23-member team from the SDRF arrived at the spot and commenced their operation. All this while, the supply of oxygen continued and the cameras were being used to monitor the condition of the child.
Ministers C Vijaya Baskar and Vellamandi Natarajan are at the spot, overseeing the rescue operations.
As the efforts continued for over 30 hours, the people and leaders of the State prayed for the child. Meanwhile, the district administration ordered that all open bore wells in the district be closed.
Just like Sujith’s family, we too are in a state of fear and pray that Sujith is retrieved soon. These kinds of tragedies that are becoming a continuous series should have a permanent end
MK Stalin, DMK president
My prayers are with Sujith’s family and the Congress party will raise this issue in Parliament to discuss the open borewells in the country to arrive at a permanent solution
Thirunavukkarasar, MP
The incident of a two-yearold kid trapped in Manapparai borewell is a shock and my prayers with the family wishing the rescue of Sujith
TTV Dhinakaran, MLA