Save Sujith: Rescue operation may take another 12 hours, say govt officials

Tiruchi: The entire state is praying for two-year-old Sujith's who is stuck in a borewell at Nadukkattupatti in Tiruchi district. Government officials have confirmed that rescue operations would take another 12 hours.

They informed that Sujith condition is stable. The rescue team is drilling a parallel way to the borewell to reach the boy. Officials attribute the delay due to the rocky terrain.

A senior government official said, "We need to drill another 40 to 50 feet for a horizontal passage to be cut. To save Sujith his condition is being monitored via camera and is stable now. We are ensuring that he doesn't slip further down."

The boy was playing with his elder brother on Friday evening when at around 5.30 pm he fell into the borewell. A few sources claim that the borewell is 600 feet deep, others say it is 1,000 feet.

"First, he fell to a depth of 26 feet, and when the rescue work began, he slipped deeper and currently is at 87 feet. He slipped further down because of the rain and mud sliding pushing the child further. The parallel hole that we are digging is about 40 feet deep now," said a source.

Officials are supplying oxygen to save Sujith, but he has been without food and water since Friday evening. A few officials claim that he has stopped responding since Sunday evening.

The victim's parents—mother works as a tailor, and his father is a construction worker. The couple has two children, and Sujith is their youngest. Sources said that the family had dug the borewell seven years ago. However, since there is no water, they tried closing it. The borewell has been dysfunctional since then.

Meanwhile, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media sites have been sharing pictures and praying for the rescue of the child.

Telangana health and family welfare minister C. Vijayabaskar and tourism minister Vellamandi N. Nagarajan, have been present at the site since Friday night.

Principal Secretary, revenue administration, disaster management and mitigation department, J. Radhakrishnan addressed the media said that modern equipment is being used in the rescue efforts.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tweeted, "While the nation celebrates Deepavali, in Tamil Nadu a race against time is underway to save baby Surjeeth, who has been trapped in a borewell since Friday. I pray that he will be rescued & reunited with his distraught parents at the earliest #savesurjeeth."

#Tiruchi: Rescue operations would take another 12 hours to save the two-year-old #Sujith, who is stuck in a #borewell at Nadukkattupatti, since the last 4 days.#savesurjeeth https://t.co/9VgLX68Iqq

— NewsMeter (@NewsMeter_In) October 28, 2019

Actors including Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan Tweeted expressing concern. On Sunday night, Deputy Chief Ministers Ottakarathevar Panneerselvam (OPS) inspected the rescue works at Nadukkattupatti.