Alwar borewell rescue: 9-year-old Bhanu pulled out safely after 5-hour operation
Synopsis
A nine-year-old kite-chaser fell into a forgotten 400-foot borewell covered by nothing more than a loose stone — and was brought out alive after five hours, with a chance arrival of an off-duty NDRF expert proving decisive. The Butoli rescue is a reminder that thousands of abandoned borewells across rural India remain unmarked death traps.
Key Takeaways
Bhanu , aged 9 , fell into an abandoned 400-foot borewell in Butoli village, Alwar while chasing a kite on 1 September .
He became trapped at a depth of approximately 40–50 feet and was rescued after nearly five hours .
Teams from SDRF and NDRF deployed three JCB machines and supplied oxygen and water to the child throughout the operation.
Off-duty NDRF expert Sachin Chaudhary arrived at 9:30 p.m. after learning of the incident on social media; Bhanu was extracted within 10 minutes of his arrival.
Bhanu was pulled out at around 11 p.m. , conscious and able to speak; taken to hospital as a precaution.
A nine-year-old boy named Bhanu was rescued safely from an abandoned borewell in Butoli village, Alwar district, Rajasthan, late on Monday night, 1 September, after a tense rescue operation that stretched nearly five hours. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) worked through the night to bring the child out alive, triggering celebrations among hundreds of anxious villagers gathered at the site.
How Bhanu Fell Into the Borewell
According to residents, Bhanu, son of Shishram, had been flying kites when the string was cut and the kite drifted toward an open field. While running to retrieve it, his foot landed on a stone that had been placed over an old, disused borewell. The stone shifted without warning, sending the child plunging into the shaft.
The borewell was reportedly around 400 feet deep, but Bhanu became trapped at a depth of approximately 40–50 feet. The well had reportedly remained unused for a long time and was covered only by a loose stone. Since the field had seen little human activity, villagers were unaware of the hazard.
The Rescue Operation
Police and administrative officials received information about the incident at around 6:30 p.m. and immediately dispatched teams to the site. Additional Superintendent of Police Priyanka Raghuvanshi, SDM Manisha Resham, Tehsildar Manish Kumar Sharma, DSP Narendra Kumar, and Station House Officer Rajesh Kumar were among the officials present.
Three JCB machines were deployed to dig a parallel trench around the borewell to create a safe extraction channel. Rescuers supplied oxygen and water to Bhanu throughout the operation and continuously monitored his condition. The atmosphere at the site was described as one of fear and tension for most of the night.
Expert Intervention That Turned the Tide
A key figure in the successful outcome was Sachin Chaudhary, a resident of Naugaon in Alwar district and a national-level technical expert with the NDRF. Chaudhary was reportedly on leave when he learned about the incident through social media and immediately travelled to Butoli, arriving at the site at around 9:30 p.m.
After coordinating with the rescue teams and providing technical guidance on the extraction process, Bhanu was brought out within approximately 10 minutes of Chaudhary's arrival, according to Chaudhary himself. 'Seeing Bhanu emerge safely was an emotional and deeply satisfying moment,' he said.
Bhanu's Condition and Aftermath
Bhanu was pulled out safely at around 11 p.m. and was reportedly conscious, healthy, and able to speak. ASP Priyanka Raghuvanshi confirmed that the child appeared to be in good health and could communicate after the rescue. As a precaution, he was taken to a nearby medical facility for a health check-up.
When Bhanu emerged from the borewell, cheers erupted across the site. For his family, hours of anguish ended in tears of relief. Villagers praised the coordinated efforts of the police, district administration, SDRF, and NDRF teams. The incident has also renewed calls for stricter enforcement of regulations requiring abandoned borewells to be properly sealed.
Point of View
But the borewell itself should never have been accessible. An abandoned shaft covered by a single loose stone in an active field is not an anomaly in rural India — it is a pattern. Supreme Court guidelines mandating the sealing of defunct borewells exist, yet enforcement remains patchy at the district level. Every such rescue that becomes a feel-good story also quietly normalises the failure of local administration to prevent the hazard in the first place. The real question is not how fast the NDRF can extract a child, but why the borewell was open at all.
NationPress
1 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Alwar borewell rescue on 1 September?
A nine-year-old boy named Bhanu fell into an abandoned 400-foot borewell in Butoli village, Alwar district, Rajasthan, while chasing a kite. He was rescued safely after a nearly five-hour operation by SDRF and NDRF teams and was found conscious and in good health.
How deep was Bhanu trapped in the borewell?
Although the borewell was reportedly around 400 feet deep, Bhanu became trapped at a depth of approximately 40–50 feet. Rescuers supplied him with oxygen and water while working to bring him out.
Who led the rescue operation in Alwar?
The rescue was led by officials including Additional Superintendent of Police Priyanka Raghuvanshi, SDM Manisha Resham, and DSP Narendra Kumar, with SDRF and NDRF teams executing the extraction. NDRF technical expert Sachin Chaudhary, who arrived off-duty after seeing social media posts, is credited with providing the decisive technical assistance.
How did Bhanu fall into the borewell?
Bhanu was running across a field to retrieve a kite when his foot landed on a stone covering an old, disused borewell. The stone shifted, causing him to fall in. The borewell had reportedly been covered only by a loose stone and was unknown to most villagers due to the field's low activity.
What is the condition of Bhanu after the rescue?
Bhanu was conscious, healthy, and able to speak when he was pulled out at around 11 p.m. on 1 September. He was taken to a nearby hospital for a precautionary medical examination.
