Tiruchirappalli, October 27: As two-year-old Sujit Wilson slipped further below into a 600-feet abandoned borewell in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli district, authorities are digging a parallel hole to rescue the infant. A rig of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was digging a 110-feet-deep hole that will enable rescue and fire team personnel to reach the stuck child. The parallel borewell is one metre in diameter.

"A parallel borewell is being dug…efforts are on…We have a technical team at the spot comprising officials from L&T, ONGC, Neyveli Lignite Corporation. The Chief Minister has issued orders to ensure that rescue efforts were carried out without any hindrance," J Radhakrishnan, who is monitoring the rescue operation, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. It's been three days since the boy fell into the borewell.

Sujit Wilson was stuck at 30 feet on Friday when he fell into the borewell. Later, he went further down and got stuck at about 100 feet. Initially, authorities used earthmoving equipment to dig a pit near the borewell to reach the boy. But it was stopped midway as the terrain was rocky. Breaking it would result in vibrations that may loosen the soil inside the borewell, thereby slipping the boy further down.

Operation Underway To Rescue Sujit Wilson:

Later, a special equipment 'borewell robot' was pressed into service. But that too was not successful. Subsequently, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) took over the rescue operations. Earlier today, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed deep concern for the safety of Sujit Wilson.

"While the nation celebrates Deepavali, in Tamil Nadu a race against time is underway to save baby Surjeeth, who has been trapped in a borewell for over 72 hrs now. I pray that he will be rescued & reunited with his distraught parents at the earliest," Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 27, 2019 10:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).