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Efforts to rescue girl hit hard rock, literally

Borewells being dug around the spot to help bring her out
Last Updated 23 April 2017, 20:10 IST
Efforts to rescue a six-year-old girl who accidentally fell into a 400-foot borewell at Jhunjarwad in the district and is stuck at a depth of 30 feet have hit hard rock, literally. Rocky terrain in the area is hampering the rescue operation.

Since the girl fell into the borewell around 6 pm on Saturday, rescue efforts are on by the district administration, who have employed the services of the National Disaster Response Force, Pune, along with experts from Hutti Gold Mines.

The entire district administration has camped in the village in Athani taluk. The officials are aiming to dig the earth parallelly to the one in question. Two borewells are being dug, so as to tunnel the earth for rescuing Kaveri. They have been able to dig up to a depth of only 15 feet so far. The entire village is praying that Kaveri comes out alive. Fire and emergency services and health officials are camping at the spot.

They ensured continuous availability of oxygen, by dropping down a pipe as excavation continued. The excavation had stopped for a while on Sunday morning as the earthmover developed a problem due to a damage to the oil tube.

The rescue team had temporarily removed the oxygen supply to drop down a camera, which showed that the girl was buried under a heap of mud in the narrow borewell, which makes respiration difficult.

Mud was removed using sucking machines, which resulted in the sighting of the girl’s hand. A hook was skilfully tied to her fingers to ensure she does not slip further. Efforts to lift the girl using hooks went in vain. As the earthmovers could not operate further, officials decided to drill several borewells around to loosen the soil as using explosives would have been dangerous.

Officials have not witnessed any movement of the child’s hand, causing concern among them. District incharge minister Ramesh Jarkiholi visited the spot on Sunday. Savita, the girl’s mother who has fallen ill, is undergoing treatment in an ambulance at the spot. Her condition is stable, said health officials.
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(Published 23 April 2017, 20:09 IST)

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