It has been nearly 70 hours since 3-year-old Chetna fell into a 700-foot borewell in Rajasthan’s Kotputli. Operations to rescue Chetna, who has been stuck in the borewell since Monday afternoon, are underway. To ramp up the efforts and save the toddler, rat hole miners have been roped in. The team reached the location last night. Rat hole miners will go through the 160-foot-deep pit dug parallel to the borewell. They will then manually dig a 7-foot-long tunnel to bring the girl out.
Chetna was playing on her father’s farm when she accidentally slipped into the borewell and got stuck 150 feet deep. According to officials, the girl first fell into the borewell at a depth of around 15 feet. Following her family’s efforts to pull her out, Chetna slipped down even further.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local administration have been trying to save Chetna. NDRF has dug a 160-foot-deep pit, in an attempt to reach Chetna.
“We are digging a pit using a piling machine. After reaching 155 feet, we were obstructed by a stone. We changed the piling machine and its width. We have dug till 160 feet, and 10 more to go. Manual digging will be required for a horizontal approach. Hopefully, we will complete it (rescue operation) today,” said Yogesh Kumar Meena, in charge of the NDRF team, while speaking to the media.
#WATCH | Yogesh Kumar Meena, in-charge NDRF team says, ” Digging was being done with piling machine, as went down till 150 m, after that a stone was found so we changed the piling machine. Right now have dug till 160 m, and we need to dig till 170 m deep down…hopefully we will… pic.twitter.com/awbP2HDHD8
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2024
A team of rat hole miners who played a vital role in evacuating 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, have been roped in for the rescue operation.
On Tuesday, Chetna was pulled up 30 feet with the help of clips by the NDRF team.
An oxygen pipe has been lowered into the borewell to supply oxygen to the girl. Cameras have also been installed to monitor the child. Ambulances are stationed at the incident site.
Local authorities have cordoned off the area to ensure rescue operations can proceed without interruption.
