Rescue ops continue to save boy stuck in TN borewell

Rescue operations continued for the third day on Sunday to bring out a three-old boy, who fell into an abandoned borewell near here, as special prayers were held across the Tamil Nadu for the safe return of the child.

State Health and Family Welfare Minister C Vijayabaskar and Tourism Minister 'Vellamandi' N Nagarajan, who have been camping at the site since Friday night, said all efforts were on to rescue the child. Celebrities and politicians also joined thousands of people in praying for the well being of the boy.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said, "While the nation celebrates Deepavali, in Tamil Nadu a race against time is underway to save baby Surjeeth, who has been trapped in a borewell since Friday. I pray that he will be rescued and reunited with his distraught parents at the earliest."

Tamil Superstar Rajinikanth and Actor-politician Kamal Hassan also expressed hope that the boy would be safely rescued. Speaking to reporters at his residence here, Rajinikanth said, "I pray for the safe rescue of the boy." "Parents should take care of children and precautionary measures should have been taken," he said.

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan expressed concern over repeated incidents of children falling into defunct borewells. "Efforts to rescue the child who is in danger should succeed. The government should impose a hefty fine on those who left borewells open," he tweeted.

The boy had fallen into the borewell on Friday while playing near his house and rescue operations had started around 6 p.m. Initially the boy was stuck at a depth of 35 feet but later drifted further to over 90 feet. Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Principal Secretary, Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation department, J Radhakrishnan said modern equipments were being used in the rescue efforts. Noting that standard operating procedures were being followed, he said, "a parallel borewell is being dug.. efforts are on .. We have a technical team at the spot comprising officials from L&T, ONGC, Neyveli Lignite Corporation." "The Chief Minister has issued orders to ensure that rescue efforts were carried out without any hindrance," he said adding around 300 people were involved in the work. The boy was continuously monitored and oxygen supplied to him, he added.