36 hours on; Efforts continue to save 14-month-old girl stuck in borewell

Hyderabad: Authorities are racing against time to save a 14-month-old girl who accidentally fell into a 40-feet deep open borewell in adjoining Vikarabad district two days ago.

Even 36 hours after the incident, no progress has been reported in locating the child whose father is a farm labourer, and the rescue operation has also been hampered by rains, a police official said on Saturday.

The toddler slipped into the borewell, located in an agricultural field in Ekkareddyguda village, at around 7:15 pm on Thursday while playing with her elder sister.

Sub-inspector of Chevella police station N Sridhar Reddy said the rescue operation was hampered by rains last night.

The child is suspected to have slipped further deep inside the borewell due to the vibrations caused by the digging work of a parallel trench along the borewell hole, he said.

"A team of experts from ONGC has also arrived at the spot. The digging work is still on. There was not much progress as far as locating the child is concerned. We are not able to send cameras into the borewell beyond a certain point. But we are making all efforts to save her," Reddy told PTI.

Cameras of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which can go to a depth of 90-feet, were deployed at the spot to locate the girl.

Oxygen is continuously being supplied into the borewell, the official said, adding that ambulances with a team of doctors have been kept on standby.

Earlier, Telangana Transport Minister P Mahendar Reddy, who has been supervising the rescue work, said authorities from different departments were making all efforts to rescue the child.

According to a revenue department official, the land owner had apparently kept the borewell open to fix a motor.

In October 2014, a four-year-old girl died after accidentally falling into a 300 feet-deep borewell at Manchal village in Ranga Reddy district.