2-yr-old boy trapped in borewell in TN dies

Hundreds of people on Tuesday bid a teary farewell to two-year-old Sujith Wilson, whose lifeless and mangled body was retrieved from an abandoned borewell in the early hours at Nadukattupatti village in Tiruchirapalli district, more than 80 hours after he accidentally fell into it.

As the casket with Sujith’s mortal remains was lowered into a pit at the cemetery in Fathimapudur village near Manaparai, 350 kms from here, his parents -- Britto Arockiaraj and Kala Mary, relatives and hundreds of villagers cried inconsolably betraying their emotions in not being able to save the two-year-old.

The cemetery was overcrowded as hundreds of people in near-by villages who were praying for the past four days for the safe return of Sujith thronged to pay him the last visit.

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who in a statement said the government took every possible effort to save the child and had even called in the NDRF for help, and Opposition Leader M K Stalin visited the child’s parents separately and offered condolences. Stalin also attacked the government for not devising a “strong plan” to pull Sujith out of the borewell.

The more than 80-hour-long rescue operation was suspended at around 3 am after authorities establish conclusively that Sujith had passed away following noticing of foul smell emanating from the 600-feet borewell in which the two-year-old fell on Friday last. Sujith was first trapped at 36 feet but he plunged to 80 feet on Saturday – his body was retrieved from 80 feet in the borewell.

Two hours after Commissioner for Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan announced that the two-year-old has passed away, Sujith’s body was retrieved from the bore well by the rescue team led by NDRF and was straight taken to the District Government Hospital in Manaparai for post-mortem.

The body was handed over to the parents at the crack of dawn at 6 am following which they carried the casket directly to the cemetery which was lowered down in a pit after prayers according to Christian traditions. The child fell into the abandoned borewell inside the family’s farm on Friday evening and massive efforts led by teams from NDRF, SDRF and other agencies had tried to save the child since then but in vain.

Though rescue efforts continued for more than 80 hours after the child fell into the borewell, hopes of pulling him out alive faded by Saturday evening as there was no trace of breathing or movement from him. That the battle was lost and only the lifeless body of Sujith remained inside the borewell became evident at around 10.00 pm on Monday when NDRF personnel noticed foul smell emanating from the borewell in which the child fell.