A tragic incident unfolded in Rajasthan, India, as a five-year-old boy, Aryan Meena, was pronounced dead following a 56-hour effort to rescue him from a 150ft borewell.
Aryan, from Kaligarh village in Dausa district, fell into the narrow well while playing near his home on Monday afternoon, December 9. Trapped in freezing conditions without food or water, hopes of saving him alive initially prevailed.
Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local authorities worked tirelessly to free the child. They deployed oxygen pipes to help him breathe and used CCTV cameras to monitor his condition. Video footage showed Aryan’s movements within the well, raising initial optimism.
Authorities adopted a secondary rescue strategy, digging a 4-foot-wide pit parallel to the well to create a horizontal tunnel at the 150-foot depth. Progressing at 20 feet per hour, the operation took nearly three days to complete.
Despite their efforts, Aryan was discovered unconscious, wedged between old pipes, and extracted late Wednesday night. He was immediately transported to the district hospital in an advanced life-support ambulance, but medical staff declared him dead after conducting multiple tests.
Deepak Sharma, chief medical officer at the Government District Hospital in Dausa, stated: “Initial examination suggests he may have sustained injuries during the fall. The exact cause of death will be determined by the autopsy.”
The tragic incident highlights ongoing safety concerns regarding uncovered borewells in rural India, which have claimed multiple young lives over the years.
