Chased by dogs, 6-year-old dies after falling into a borewell in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur
India Today
A six-year-old boy died after falling into an open borewell in Hoshiarpur. Even after an eight hour rescue operation, his life could not be saved since medical reports revealed that he had died about an hour before he was rescued.
A six-year-old boy lost his life after falling into a borewell. He was playing with his sister when dogs started chasing him. While running away from dogs, he fell into an open borewell. Rescue efforts of an NGO, police, NDRF and the army were started and while the boy was pulled out of the borewell, he could not be saved.
The incident took place when the child, Ritik, was playing with his sister on Sunday morning. He had not been going to school owing to being unwell.
His sister said that he was scared of dogs and when while playing some dogs started getting close to them, Ritik started running and fell into the borewell. His sister then raised an alarm and called for help after which a local NGO, Baba Deep Singh Charitable Trust, managed to get an excavator and an oxygen cylinder.
Soon after, the police, army and NDRF teams were also called and a two-pronged rescue operation was started. While Ritik was tried to be pulled out from the borewell using clip fitted piped, the nearby field was also dug up. Finally, Ritik was rescued after the operation that lasted for eight hours.
He was unconscious when he was pulled out of the borewell. He had fallen upside down into the borewell because of which he might have suffocated to death before he was rescued. Although he was rushed to the emergency department of the Hoshiarpur Civil Hospital, the doctors could not save his life. Medical examination reports revealed that he had died about an hour before he was rescued from the borewell.
State Cabinet Minister of Revenue and water Resources, Brahm Shankar Jimpa, visited the spot and assured the people that all borewells would be properly covered. The state government also announced an ex gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh to Ritik’s family.
The child, Ritik, was the youngest among five siblings. His parents, originally from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, had moved to Hoshiarpur in 2004. They worked as farm labourers in the Khyala Bulund village.
