Desperate efforts are being made to save a 10-year-old boy who has been trapped in a well in India for four days.
Rahul Sahu fell into the waterhole on Friday, 10 June, while playing in his home’s garden in the state of Chhattisgarh in central India.
The child, who is both deaf and mute, has been stuck down the 80ft hole for around 96 hours now as emergency personnel have been working to save him.
Advert
Labourers and cranes have made attempts to dig a tunnel adjacent to the well, which is just a few feet wide.
Members of the army, as well as staff from India’s disaster response agency have also pitched in to help rescue Rahul.
However, poor weather conditions as well as the presence of poisonous snakes and scorpions which have been uncovered by the mission have hindered the rescue mission, according to local officials.
Advert
The child was said to be ‘responding well’ to rescue staff, while a camera has been monitoring his state and movements, according to a statement on the scene made by Janjgir district police chief Vijay Agrawal.
“Since the boy cannot speak or listen, we have a bigger challenge,” Vijay said.
Rahul is being provided fresh air through an oxygen pipe, but government officials have stated that the efforts are being slowed down by a hard stone beneath the ground’s surface.
Advert
However, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Bhupesh Baghel, is hopeful that the little boy will be rescued safely from the well.
He tweeted on Monday: “The rescue operation is still on. Due to the presence of a rock during drilling, the time for taking out Rahul Sahu has definitely increased.
“But these voices of NDRF jawans resonating around the borewell for the last 3 days remain the hope of Rahul,” he wrote.
The leader also explained that the boy was able to eat something handed down to him by rescuers.
Advert
“The child has also eaten a banana at 5 am today,” he wrote.
In 2019, some will remember that a two-year-old toddler died after falling into a well after a four-day rescue mission in Punjab.
In the same year, a one-and-a-half-year-old baby was safely rescued in Haryana after being trapped in a well for two days.
Advert
Elsewhere, in February a five-year-old child Rayan was trapped 100ft under the ground for four days before being found dead by rescue teams.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected].
Topics: World News
