Vellore: An earthmover was used to dig up the adjacent land in an effort to reach the boy from a side of the borewell. A Madurai team brought a special gadget for pulling him out using a forceps-type gadget. Doctors and paramedics were brought in and oxygen was sent by tubes into the borewell.

Finally, at about 5.25 pm, the rescuers pulled out a limp Tamilarasan and rushed him by an ambulance to Walajah GH where the doctors tried without success to resuscitate the boy.

A doctor in the team said the boy might have died at least a couple of hours before due to shock and asphyxiation.

“The child called out as he went down the bore well but we could not save him”, sobbed his uncle Madhavan. The boy’s mother Geetha could not be consoled.

Police have registered a case and are investigating how the borewell had been left improperly covered despite the government repeatedly cautioning the farmers that fatal accidents could occur due to such carelessness and there have been quite a few tragedies involving children in recent past.

Government to act tough

“Those responsible for the abandoned borewell that turned a death trap for the child will not be spared,” municipal administration minister S.P. Velumani has warned.

When contacted for his response, he said, “Amma as Chief Minister of the state in 2014 brought in amendments to the existing municipal administration Acts to punish and prevent those responsible for open wells and, as per the bill introduced in the Assembly, we will take necessary action against the offenders,” the minister said.

Following a series of fatal incidents of children slipping into open borewells, the state in August 2014 introduced two bills, mandating permission from authorities for sinking wells and providing a jail term up to seven years for those who violate the norms.

The new bill mandates every borewell applicant to obtain a permit from the executive authority of the local body with a fee of not exceeding `5,000. The applicant involved in borewell business should also apply to the collector for grant of a certificate of registration for sinking borewells.

Tragedy continues over the years

1) April 15, 2014: A four-year-old boy, G. Harshan, was pulled out of a 400 ft borewell after a six-hour struggle in Kuthalaperi village, near Sankarankoil, in Tirunelveli district. The boy got stuck at a depth of 17 feet.

2) April 6, 2014: R. Madhumitha, a three-year-old girl in Villupuram district who fell into a 500-foot open borewell was rescued after 19 hours in a severely asphyxiated condition. She died in hospital.

3) September 29, 2013: P. Devi, a five-year-old girl from Pulavanpadi village, near Arni, fell accidentally into a borewell. She was trapped at about 25 feet. She died while being taken to hospital.

4) April 28, 2013: A seven-year-old girl, Muthulakshmi, at Suryapalli, in Karur district, died after she fell into the improperly closed borewell.

5) September 30, 2012: A four-year-old boy, A. Guna, was rescued from a borewell after marathon efforts at Denkankottai, near Hosur.