A 14-month-old girl slipped into a nearly 40-foot-deep abandoned borewell at Ekkareddyguda village of Chevella mandal of Rangareddy district, 60 km from here, on Thursday evening.
On learning of it, top officials from the district and Cyberabad police rushed to the spot and began operations to rescue the girl. Minister for Transport P. Mahender Reddy and Chevella MLA K. Yadaiah, who were attending an Iftar at a nearby village, too dashed to the spot. Baby Veena alias Chinnari was playing on the field of a farmer where her father Yadaiah, a labourer from Gorepally of Yalal mandal, had come to work. The abandoned borewell was not covered with any lid.
“The unsuspecting child stepped onto it and slipped inside,” the Minister told The Hindu .
Within 30 minutes, local police, along with firemen and doctors from nearby Government hospital, rushed there. “The kid is alive. We could see her hands. As a first step, oxygen is being pumped into the borewell to ensure she breathes easily,” Mr. Reddy said.
While earth-moving machines started digging up near the borewell, Cyberabad Police Commissioner Sandeep Shandilya sought the services of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team positioned at Shaikpet in Hyderabad.
Special equipment to be used by NDRF was being brought from Mangalagiri of Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.