Toddler dies in India's Tiruchirappalli city after 3 days of being stuck in a well

Published October 29, 2019
Rescue workers gather with heavy digging equipment during an operation to save a toddler trapped in a deep well in India's Tamil Nadu state. — Photo courtesy CNN
Rescue workers gather with heavy digging equipment during an operation to save a toddler trapped in a deep well in India's Tamil Nadu state. — Photo courtesy CNN

The body of a two-year old boy trapped 85-feet down a well in southern India for more than three days was recovered on Tuesday, authorities said.

Sujith Wilson was the second toddler in four months to grab nationwide attention after falling into the one-foot diameter pipe while playing near his home in Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu state on Friday.

“The body was retrieved using special equipment and he was in a decomposed state,” district official S. Sivarasu told journalists.

He added that a post-mortem examination would be carried out to determine the cause of death.

A thermal camera had been used to monitor the child's temperature while oxygen was supplied through a pipe.

Rescuers said the toddler was unconscious but breathing until Sunday morning, but they had been unable to check his condition since then as he had slipped further down.

Workers used an oil drill to dig a hole parallel to the well, but the rig broke down around 33 feet from the boy because of the rocky ground.

Attempts to use robotic devices to lower ropes to latch onto the boy's wrist failed on Saturday.

Politicians had started a vigil at the site and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opposition leader Rahul Gandhi offered their “prayers” in Twitter statements as national attention focused on Tiruchirappalli.

It is the latest in a series of incidents involving children falling into disused wells in rural India.

In June, a two year-old boy died after spending four days trapped inside one in Punjab state.

In 2006, the rescue of a six-year-old made international headlines when he was recovered safely in Haryana state after being stuck in an 60-foot well for 48 hours.

The wells are very common across rural India as they are a key source of water for farmers and domestic users.

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