Fourteen month-old boy falls into open borewell in southern India, rescued

April 4, 2024

by Surya Prakash

• Child borewell rescue
• Child rescue
• Karnataka
• Karnataka child rescue
• Vijaypura

Rescue operation to save the life of a fourteen month-old boy who had fallen into an open borewell in southern India’s Karnataka successful.

This incident took place in Indi taluk in Vijayapura district on April 4.

Visuals showed the glimpses of the rescue operation which was underway to save the child. Rescue officials had lowered a camera as well as oxygen into the borewell so that the child, who was stuck at 15-20 feet inside, could breathe. A screen showed the toddler’s legs which were moving constantly and the officials monitored the child’s movements on the screen. An excavator was also seen digging up a parallel well in an attempt to save the child. After a prolonged struggle, the baby was successfully rescued from the borewell. He was carefully wrapped in a towel and placed onto a stretcher. Officials then carried him out of the ditch they had excavated.

According to a report, the Fourteen months-old was identified as Satvik Satish Mujagond and he was playing near the open defunct 16 feet deep borewell when he accidentally fell inside. The officials got to know about the mishap at 6:30 on April 3. The report further states that the boy’s family had built a new borewell because their sugarcane and lime crops on their land were deprived of water due to drought. The family did make a new borewell but left the old one uncovered, which led to this accident. Officials of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), fire and emergency services rushed to the spot and they were engaged in working towards rescuing the child.

After a 20-hour operation led by NDRF and SDRF teams, he has been successfully rescued.