Child retrieved from Punjab borewell dead (2nd Lead)

IANS  |  Sangrur/Chandigarh 

The two-year-old boy who was pulled out on Tuesday from a 150-foot-deep abandoned borewell in a village in Punjab's district after six days was declared dead.

However, there is no official confirmation from doctors about the health of the child.

expressed grief over his death.

"Very sad to hear about the tragic death of young Fatehveer. I pray that Waheguru grants his family the strength to bear this huge loss," he said in a tweet.

"Have sought reports from all DCs (Deputy Commissioners) regarding any open bore well so that such terrible accidents can be prevented in the future," he added.

As he was retrieved, the child's grandfather told the media on the spot: "Why was he taken to the hospital when he is no more."

He claimed that the body of the child had grievous wounds. "He was pulled out (of the borewell) by using strings."

A in the PGI's emergency ward told reporters the child's body was badly decomposed and smelly.

"It seems the child died two days ago," he added.

The boy, who had been trapped in the abandoned borewell since June 6, was retrieved by the rescuers of the (NDRF).

Deputy said it was one of the toughest operations carried out by the NDRF.

Lack of expertise and technical snags one after another were blamed for the delay in the massive rescue operation.

Special teams had been working day and night in a tunnel that was dug parallel to the abandoned borewell.

Meanwhile, tension prevailed among villagers in over the inability of the to timely retrieve the toddler.

Thousands of angry protesters blocked the road leading to Bhagwanpura village in Sunam sub-division, some 15 km from district headquarters at Sangrur, where the incident occurred.

On March 22, a one-and-a-half-year-old boy, who fell into a 70-foot narrow borewell in Haryana's district, was rescued after a 48-hour operation.

In July, 2006, Army engineers in Haryana's Kurukshetra town had rescued a little boy trapped in a 60-foot well for two days.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, June 11 2019. 11:50 IST