Girl trapped in Kutch borewell dies; 32-hour rescue effort goes in vain

An 18-year-old girl who had been trapped in a borewell in Gujarat’s Kutch district since around 6am on Monday was brought out around 3.30pm Tuesday after more than 32 hours of rescue operations and was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead by the doctors, officials said.

The incident happened in Kandherai village of Bhuj taluka. Officials initially expressed doubts about the family’s version of events, questioning how a girl of her age could have fallen into a “12-inch- diametre” borewell. However, they confirmed her presence at “500 feet in the 540-feet” borewell using a camera. Officials said that they are also investigating whether the fall was accidental or if any foul play was involved.

“Nobody had seen her falling. She left her home early in the morning, and around 5.30-6am, her family members heard her shout for help and rushed to rescue her. They tried for an hour or so before seeking help from the local police. A team from the Nagarpalika, along with fire officials, attempted to rescue her initially, but they did not succeed,” Bhuj sub-divisional officer and deputy collector Amit Jadav said.

She was found unconscious when rescue teams arrived around 7.30- 8 am on Monday, Jadav said.

“More than 50 officials, including those from the Army and the Border Security Force (BSF) were engaged in the rescue operations. The size of the borewell had been a major challenge for the teams. She was in an unconscious state, and we were continuously supplying oxygen to her. Later, a team from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also joined the rescue from Monday evening,” said Jadav.

“There wasn’t much room for another person to go inside and rescue her, so the NDRF team was trying to get her out using an L-shaped hook. They finally managed to bring her out of the borewell on Tuesday afternoon,” Jadav explained. Soon after, she was taken to the GK General Hospital in Bhuj, where she was declared dead by the doctor.