A four-year-old boy who fell into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in Haryana's Ambala district died after rescuers pulled him out following a 21-hour multi-agency operation early Wednesday.
Nirvair Singh was brought out of the borewell at around 3.40 am and immediately rushed by ambulance to the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantonment, where doctors declared him dead.
"A doctor at the hospital said the child was brought dead when he was taken to the emergency ward."
The incident occurred around 6.30 am on Tuesday in Dhaneora village.
According to the family, Nirvair had accompanied his father, Manjit, to the fields to deliver food to his grandfather, Karnail Singh, who was already working there. While Karnail ate, Manjit began working in the field, and the child wandered off to play.
Family members said Nirvair spotted an open borewell and started throwing soil into it. The wet ground around the opening allegedly caved in as he leaned over to look inside, causing him to fall.
Manjit said the family heard a loud sound and rushed to the borewell, calling out to the child. After unsuccessful attempts to rescue him, they alerted the authorities at around 7.30 am.
Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Army launched an extensive operation after Deputy Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar and other officials reached the spot.
Tomar said the borewell, approximately nine inches in diameter, was about 220 feet deep.
"He said the administration acted immediately after receiving information about the incident and mobilised emergency response teams."
Haryana Cabinet minister Anil Vij visited the site on Tuesday evening to review the rescue operation and met the child's family.
The deputy commissioner had said on Tuesday that the police had been directed to initiate action as per rules against those responsible for leaving the borewell open.
"Appealing to farmers, Tomar urged them not to leave borewells uncovered, saying the tragedy could have been prevented had the borewell been properly sealed."
The tragedy comes weeks after a four-year-old boy in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district was rescued alive after being trapped 20 to 30 feet deep in a newly dug borewell for nearly nine hours.
The incident also revived memories of the 2006 rescue of five-year-old Prince, who was pulled out alive after a 48-hour operation in Haryana's Kurukshetra district, a mission that had captured nationwide attention.
(With inputs from PTI)