Son Dies After Falling Into Hole Dug by Father... "Tragedy as Rain Loosens Soil"

A hole where a 5-year-old boy from India fell. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Nahana] In India, a 5-year-old boy fell into an underground hole dug by his father, leading to a 90-hour rescue operation, but he ultimately lost his life.

On the morning of the 4th, around 9 a.m., in a village in Niwadi district, Madhya Pradesh, India, a 5-year-old boy named Prahladran fell into a narrow underground hole dug by his father while playing near his home, India TV reported on the 8th.

The hole is known as a 'chakjang' (borewell), which the boy's father had recently dug in the field to connect a pump and draw water. The hole is 60 meters deep in total, but the boy was stuck about 18 meters down without falling into the water.

Upon receiving the report, the military, police, and local administration dispatched teams and used heavy machinery to dig parallel to the hole where the boy was trapped, while continuously supplying oxygen inside the hole. The rescue operation lasted a total of 90 hours. Nearby villagers prayed for the boy's safe return.

The rescue team dug down to a depth of 18 meters and worked day and night to tunnel horizontally to the point where the boy was stuck.

At around 3 a.m. that day, the trapped boy was found, but he was already deceased.

This is not the first incident of a child losing their life after falling into a borewell. In India, children often fall into borewells dug near homes and die.

Last October, in a village in Tamil Nadu, a 2-year-old boy fell into a borewell with a diameter of 10 cm and a depth of 180 meters while playing near his home. Despite a large-scale rescue operation lasting three days, he ultimately died.

At that time, the boy's grandfather said, "Seven years ago, the hole was dug as joint property of the brothers, but it was not used due to lack of water and was filled with soil. Recently, due to rain, the soil loosened, causing this tragedy."

Also, in June last year, in Punjab, a child fell into a well hole, and despite a two-day rescue operation, the child died.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.