SONEPUR/BALANGIR: In an unfortunate incident, a 70-year-old woman who was rescued from a 20-feet open bore well after a 10-hour rescue operation near Kainphula village in Sonepur Sadar block, succumbed on her way to Subarnapur district hospital. She has been identified as Dukhi Negi.
According to sources, Dukhi originally hailing from Govindpur village of Khaliapali GP was staying with her daughter at Kainphula village. On Monday, she had gone to a nearby forest to collect grass for making broomsticks but did not return till the evening. Worried, her daughter and other family members, started searching for her and informed the police. Shockingly, she was found inside a bore well on Tuesday morning.
Soon, Sonepur and Tarva fire brigade personnel, along with the ODRAF team from Boudh, launched a marathon rescue operation and dug up a parallel hole manually to reach the old woman.The district administration had also sought help from the NDRF team in Raipur.
“During the rescue operation, we could see her but she was not responding to commands,” assistant fire officer Dhananjay Mallik said.However, she was brought out safely but while being taken to the hospital she breathed her last.“She had died before being brought to the hospital,” said a doctor of Subarnapur district hospital Dr Somi Purohit.
As per the rescue team, a poisonous snake was also found inside the bore well. Upon reaching the hospital, the doctors declared her brought dead. The cause of death, whether due to snakebite or suffocation, will be determined by a post-mortem report, police said.
Sonepur SP Amaresh Panda said the woman’s pulse rate was very low when she was brought out of the borewell. “An investigation has been launched into the incident. The person responsible for leaving the bore well open would face action,” he said.Health Minister Niranjan Pujari, who represents Sonepur constituency, said a proper investigation will be conducted into the incident.