VIJAYAPURA: Call it a sheer miracle or testimony to human endurance to survive in the most hostile situation or even the result of fervent prayers to the almighty, the 15-month-old boy who was stuck for nearly 21 hours in an open tubewell has been rescued.
The happy ending to the rescue operation led to enormous jubilation among the hundreds of people gathered at the site who cheered intensely when the baby was brought out alive from the 21-foot-deep tubewell on Thursday afternoon.
Satwik Mujagond, son of farmer Satish (28), a resident of Lachyan village in Indi taluk of the district, had fallen into an open tubewell at around 6:15 pm on Wednesday. The tubewell had been drilled in Satish's farm.
On hearing about the incident, hundreds of people from nearby villages started pouring in. Standing under the scorching heat they prayed for the safe return of the baby from the ‘death hole’.
Their prayers finally paid off when the infant was brought out alive in relatively good condition.
“The doctors have checked the baby and said that his condition is good. He has not sustained any external injuries. However for further checks, the baby has been shifted to the District Government Hospital,” said Deputy Commissioner T. Bhoobalan who was camping at the site till the end of the rescue operation.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, noted paediatricians Dr Mallanagouda Patil and Dr Mujahid Bagwan said several critical factors saved the baby. They include getting sufficient and timely oxygen, the position of the boy, the boy not sustaining any injury to the head or ribcage and finally completing the rescue operation within 30 hours.
I dug the well just two days back: Satish Mujagond
The child's parents Satish Mujagond and Puja Mujagond were elated at his rescue. Satish said he had got the tubewell drilled just two days ago to water his lemon plants. He said that he had closed the tubewell with a tile and had only opened it for a while to draw water for the plants.
"The incident happened when I was working on the farm and preparing to water my lemon plants. Puja, my wife, was at home when she realised that Satwik was could not be found at home. We started searching frantically in the farm. When we could not find him anywhere in the farm, I feared that he might have fallen into the tubewell. Our fear became real when we could hear the sound of his anklet and we later confirmed it on seeing him when we used a torch," Satish said.
Satish, who is a farmer by occupation, had got married about three years ago and Satwik, their first child, was born 15 months back.
Chronology of the rescue operation
After the report of the boy having fallen into the tubewell, the authorities were informed at around 6:30 pm and officials swung into action by 7:00 pm to launch the rescue operation.
Personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services were the first to reach the spot. They used a hook that was lowered to lock the feet of the baby to prevent him from slipping further in the tubewell.
At around 7:30, earthmovers arrived at the spot and started digging a parallel trench. Meanwhile, the district administration summoned the SDRF team from Kalaburagi and Belagavi and NDRF team from Hyderabad. While the SDRF team arrived late at night, the NDRF team arrived early in the morning to join the rescue operation. Nearly 80 personnel of the SDRF and NDRF started drilling the trench parallel to the tubewell.
Amid this, health officials who arrived shortly after the incident began giving oxygen to the baby. They were also monitoring the movements of the baby using the camera that was lowered in the tubewell. "We were hearing the sound of the baby’s cry at regular intervals. We could also see his head and feet moving," said one of the medical staff who was monitoring the baby.
Even as the medical staff were supplying oxygen, personnel were continuously digging a trench. However, they faced a major obstacle when they reached the basalt rock layer. "Basalt rock is one of the hardest rock formations. Breaking that rock and fragmenting it is a herculean task. We had to dig up only around 21 feet, which we could have done within a few hours if we had no basalt rock formation at the site. Breaking the rock faster and at the same time delicately to avoid any injury to the boy was a formidable challenge," said Damodar Singh, the Deputy Commandant of NDRF-Hyderabad.
Despite facing a rocky challenge, the personnel continued the operation with different tools and finally at around 1:00 pm, the baby was brought out.
