'Boy has fainted, but breathing; rescue ops still on'

Tiruchirappall, Oct 28: Efforts to rescue a three-year-old boy trapped in a borewell near here for over 48 hours continued on Sunday with officials saying the child has fainted but was breathing.

They said that a rig, which could drill up to 100 feet, has been pressed into service to make a hole parallel to the borewell about three meters away. After completion of the drilling a tunnel-like structure would be created for the use of fire service personnel to reach the child with an oxygen cylinder, the officials said, adding that they were confident of rescuing the boy.

They said steps have been taken to prevent the child from falling down further from 90 feet. A team of 25 rescuers was on the job on the advice of experts, they said. Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister C Vijayabaskar and Tourism Minister 'Vellamandi' N Nagarajan, who have been camping at the site since Friday night, said all efforts were on to rescue the child. Thousands of people have been praying for the well being of the boy and have been joined by celebrities and politicians.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said, "While the nation celebrates Deepavali, in Tamil Nadu a race against time is underway to save baby Surjeeth, who has been trapped in the borewell since Friday. I pray that he will be rescued and reunited with his distraught parents at the earliest." Tamil film star Rajinikanth and actor-politician Kamal Hassan also expressed hope that the boy would be safely rescued. Speaking to reporters at his residence here, Rajinikanth said,

"I pray for the safe rescue of the boy." "Parents should take care of children and precautionary measures should have been taken," he said. Kamal Haasan expressed concern over repeated incidents of children falling into defunct borewells. "Efforts to rescue the child who is in danger should succeed.

The government should impose hefty fines on those who leave borewells open," he tweeted. The child had fallen into the 600 feet borewell while playing near his house at Nadukattupatti on Friday evening.