Boy rescued from borewell in Sankarankovil

Four-member team from Madurai helps in rescue efforts

A three-year-old boy fell into an unprotected borewell near Sankarankovil on Monday but was rescued in a swift operation launched by the district administration, especially by a four-member team from Madurai.

The condition of G. Harshan is fine, said doctors who attended on him at the Sankarankovil Government Hospital.

S. Ganesan, a teacher appointed by the Parent-Teachers’ Association of Government Higher Secondary School on temporary basis, sunk an eight-inch-deep borewell four days ago on his eight-acre farm at Kuththaalaperi to irrigate lemon trees. When the 400-foot-deep borewell failed to yield water, he closed it but failed to fit the “outer pipe with cap.” When Mr. Ganesan’s wife went to the farm on Monday around 9.30 a.m. along with her two children, Harshan fell into the borewell and got stuck at a depth of about 15 feet.

When the rescue operation began around 11 a.m., a pit was dug for about four feet near the borewell and then a hand-held vibrator was used to make a hole so as to avoid vibrations that could trigger landslip in the borewell. However, it was also discontinued as the vibrator was not so effective against the rocks and a borewell team was roped in at 2.30 p.m. to drill the hole.

Even as the rescue operation was on, oxygen was supplied to the boy by a medical team. Drinking water was also supplied to him through a small tube. The operation assumed greater momentum when a rescue team from Madurai, comprising TVS Community College faculty members M. Manikandan (30) and electrical engineer M. Thirunavukkarasu (30), his brother and mechanical engineer M. Vallarasu, working with a private firm at Kochchadai, Madurai, and P. Rajkumar, reached the spot at 2.35 p.m. with the gadgets, called ‘borewell Robot’, fabricated by them with camera facility to locate the spot.

While Mr. Rajkumar continuously interacted with the boy, his friends, who arrived at the spot in a hired car, commenced the rescue operation. After the mechanical hand failed to hold the boy tightly in the first four attempts, another ‘hand’ was fixed that lifted the boy soaked in sand and dust successfully at 3.50 p.m. amidst jubilation from the villagers standing nearby.