21-hour rescue ops end in heartbreak as Ambala boy dies in borewell

A four-year-old boy who fell into a 220-foot-deep borewell in Haryana's Ambala district was pulled out after a 21-hour rescue operation early Wednesday. He was rushed to hospital, but doctors declared him dead.

In Short

• Four-year-old boy fell into the borewell in Dhaneora village on Tuesday morning
• He had gone with his father to deliver breakfast in fields
• Officials said the wet slippery ground likely caused him to lose balance

A four-year-old boy who fell into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in Haryana's Ambala district was declared dead after rescuers pulled him out following a 21-hour multi-agency operation early Wednesday.

The child, identified as Nirvair Singh, was brought out from the nine-inch-wide borewell at around 3.40 am in Dhaneora village under Barara. He was immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantonment, where doctors declared him brought dead.

The incident occurred at around 6.30 am on Tuesday when Nirvair accompanied his father, Manjit, to the family's fields to deliver breakfast to his grandfather, Karnail Singh.

According to officials and family members, the child was playing near the open borewell while the adults attended to farm work. He reportedly began dropping handfuls of soil into the borewell. The ground around the opening had become wet and slippery, and while leaning over to look inside, he is believed to have lost his balance and fallen into the shaft.

Villagers initially attempted to rescue the child before informing the authorities. Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the district administration and later the Army launched an extensive operation using specialised equipment to reach the child.

After more than 21 hours of continuous efforts, rescuers succeeded in pulling Nirvair out at around 3.40 am on Wednesday. Despite being immediately shifted to hospital in an ambulance, doctors confirmed that the four-year-old had died.

The tragic incident has once again highlighted the dangers posed by unsecured and abandoned borewells, prompting renewed calls for strict enforcement of safety measures to prevent similar accidents.

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