Rescue Operations Continue After 68 Hours: 3-Year-Old Girl Trapped in Borewell
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Jaipur, Dec 26 (NationPress) After more than 68 hours, the efforts to rescue a three-year-old girl trapped in a 700-foot-deep borewell in Rajasthan's Kotputli-Behror district are ongoing. A 160-foot-deep pit is currently being excavated to create a tunnel that will allow rescuers to reach the child.
On Thursday at 6 a.m., an additional piling machine was utilized to speed up the operation. The rescue teams are working diligently to achieve the necessary depth, after which a specialized group of "rat miners" from Uttarakhand will begin digging a horizontal tunnel towards the borewell, according to officials.
District Collector Kalpana Agarwal visited the rescue site late Wednesday evening to discuss the ongoing efforts with her team.
The in-charge of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Yogesh Meena, mentioned that a stone had obstructed progress at 155 feet, leading to a need for a new bit on the piling machine. Following this, digging resumed and has reached 160 feet, with an additional 10 feet to go before manual horizontal digging can commence. This next phase involves creating an 8-9-foot tunnel to reach the borewell and rescue Chetna, with hopes that the operation could conclude today.
Significant logistical hurdles have been encountered by the rescue team. The large piling machine necessitated the removal of several electricity poles, resulting in delays.
Chetna fell into the borewell while playing near her residence in Badiyali ki Dhani of Kiratpur in Kotputli on Monday at approximately 2 p.m. Initial rescue attempts using makeshift tools proved unsuccessful.
For the past two days, no movement has been detected on the camera monitoring Chetna. Her extended entrapment without food or water has led to rising frustration and concern among her family and local villagers, who are increasingly anxious about the delays.
The district administration remains optimistic that Chetna will soon be rescued as teams are nearing the final stages of their operation.
Meanwhile, the leader of the rat miners expressed confidence in successfully bringing out Chetna, stating, "We have rescued the workers involved in the Uttarakhand tunnel accident."
The rat miners have been closely monitoring the rescue efforts on television for the last two days.
"I contacted the Kotputli administration, and shortly thereafter, SDM Brijesh Chaudhary reached out to us for assistance. We arrived in Kotputli at 8 a.m.," he stated on Thursday.
