A nearly two-year-old boy fell into a 170-feet deep open borewell in a village in Punjab’s Sangrur district on Thursday afternoon, officials said as they launched operations to rescue him.

Family members of Fatheveer Singh said he was playing outside their home and fell into the nine-inch open borewell, which has been lying open for the past seven years, at Bhagwanpura in Sunam sub-division of the district.

Soon after the incident, officials of the police and civil administration along with residents began the rescue operation at around 4pm. A team of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) from Bathinda also joined the efforts at 7pm.

The official said the borewell is around 170-feet deep and the boy is stuck at 110 feet.

“The boy is being provided oxygen and he has shown movement. The NDRF team has also started the rescue work,” Sunam sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Manjit Kaur.

“We are employing two methods. One in which JCB and tractors have been used to dig a parallel borewell and in the other the NDRF team is trying to pull out the boy with the help of a rope,” Kaur said.

The rescue operation was still on during filing of the report.

“He is the only child of his parents. His father and other family members were also near him when the mishap occurred,” Rohi Singh, the grandfather of the child, said.

“We are planning to celebrate his second birthday on June 10,” he said.

Aam Aadmi Party legislator and leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Lehra MLA Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Youth Congress leader Daman Thind Bajwa and other local leaders also gathered at the spot.

First Published: Jun 07, 2019 08:31 IST