New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said his prayers are with the three-year-old Sujith, trapped in an abandoned borewell since Friday near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, saying every effort is underway to rescue him. He said he spoke with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palanisamy about the rescue efforts.
"My prayers are with the young and brave Sujith Wilson. Spoke to CM @EPSTamilNadu regarding the rescue efforts underway to save Sujith. Every effort is being made to ensure that he is safe," the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
My prayers are with the young and brave Sujith Wilson. Spoke to CM @EPSTamilNadu regarding the rescue efforts underway to save Sujith. Every effort is being made to ensure that he is safe. @CMOTamilNadu
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 28, 2019
Sujith fell into the borewell while playing near his house at Nadukattupatti on Friday evening.
A heavy, German-made drilling machine has been deployed to dig a parallel shaft to reach a 3-year-old boy stuck in an abandoned borewell at a depth of 88 feet for the last 72 hours, but rescue efforts were hampered by rocky soil and rain, officials said Monday.
As operations stretched into the fourth day, the sleepy village of Nadukattupatti was teeming with people from neighbouring villages to witness the elaborate rescue efforts for the boy who fell into the disused farm borewell while playing near his house at 5.30 pm on Friday.
Rescuers have been digging another parallel shaft since Sunday to reach an appropriate depth to get to the boy, and now a heavy Larsen and Tubro drilling machine of German make, equipped with tungsten carbide tipped teeth, has been deployed to expedite the efforts, said Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan.
The abandoned borewell's diameter is very narrow and the boy is trapped in rocky soil, he told reporters in Nadukattupatti.
Initially, efforts were made to rescue the boy by using "clamping," technology involving tailor- made equipment, but that failed, he said.
Extra care needs to be taken and the drilling cannot be rushed since there are chances of the abandoned borewell getting closed completely due to vibrations, he said, adding that this remains a key challenge.
Geologists who were consulted pointed out that the soil comprised hard rock of quartz and feldspar, he said.
