New Delhi: Efforts to a rescue 3-year-old girl trapped in a 700-foot-deep borewell since Monday afternoon are underway in Rajasthan. Chetna fell into the borewell on her father’s farm in the Sarund area of the Kotputli district.
The rescues employed new techniques to make a safe passage for her. The operation was joined by rat-hole miners, skilled in navigating confined and treacherous underground spaces, to assist the authorities.
Their skills have proven effective in the past, notably in the remarkable November 2023 rescue of 41 workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel.
With Chetna stuck at approximately 150 feet, a massive rescue operation was launched for her safe evacuation. Due to the challenging terrain and depth of the borewell, authorities have deployed National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams and specialised personnel in the rescue operation.
The rescuers are facing difficulties due to the large stone obstructing their progress at around 155 feet. The rescue team is utilizing heavy machinery to dig a parallel shaft to bring her out safely. The initial piling machine was replaced with one of a wider width to overcome this challenge.
The operation is now focused on reaching Chetna by manually digging a horizontal tunnel to connect with the borewell. NDRF in-charge Yogesh Kumar Meena expressed hope that the rescue would be completed within the day.
To ensure that Chetna survives inside the borewell, authorities have maintained constant visual monitoring of her location using a camera. A pipe has been used to supply oxygen and other essential items.
