In a complex and swift rescue operation last night, the Indian Army rescued an 18-month-old child from a 300 feet borewell in Gujarat.
The child was trapped in the borewell at a depth of around 20 feet. The family had just come to Gujarat, originally living in Madhya Pradesh. “The borewell is near the hut in which the labourer family from Madhya Pradesh had put after arriving on the farm for working as agricultural labourers around 15 days ago. The farm owner, Vibha Rabari, had covered the borewell with a discarded tube of a tractor. But the boy apparently climbed over the casing of the borewell and the tube couldn’t withstand his weight,” an officer of Dhrangadhra taluka police station said.
With all efforts failing of bringing out the boy, the rescuers finally sought the help of the Indian Army’s camp in Dhrangadhra, Mukesh Patel, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Dhrangadhra said.
“The Army rescuers team reached the spot at around 9:45 pm. They lowered a hook tied to a rope in the borewell. They managed to trap the boy’s T-shirt in the hook and then gently pulled him out of the 500-foot deep borewell,” Patel told The Indian Express, adding, “The Army team managed to pull the boy out of the borewell within 45 minutes after reaching the spot.”
In a complex & swift rescue operation last night #INDIANARMY extricated an 18 month old child from 300 ft borewell submerged in water at Dhrangadhra #Gujarat. Presence of mind & innovative methods led to saving of the precious life.#KonarkCorps#HarKaamDeshKeNaam pic.twitter.com/ApOunlVY0g
— Southern Command INDIAN ARMY (@IaSouthern) June 8, 2022
The SDM said that the boy was rushed to a hospital in Dhrangadhra town. “He was given primary treatment in the Dhrangadhra hospital and was referred to CU Shah Hospital in Surendranagar. The boy has sustained minor injuries doctors are saying he is out of danger,” said Patel.
It was a delicate, skillful mission carried out in a very short time, which was very commendable. They cleverly used the child’s own banyan and latched a hook on it and gently pulled out the child. The child smiles charmingly at his rescuers, perhaps if the technology they used was executed for earlier borewell disasters, more children might have been saved. Kudos to the Indian Army who always steps in in times of trouble. The