A two-year-old boy, Chandrasekhar, fell into a borewell at Ummadivaram village in Vinukonda Mandal of Guntur district on Tuesday evening.
A concerted effort by the personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department and the police to rescue the boy continued till late in the night.
However, a sudden spell of rain hampered their attempts as water started entering the borewell despite the efforts of the workers to stop the flow.
The situation created panic among the rescue teams when a nearly 20-feet pit dug parallel to the borewell was also getting inundated. Digging the alternative pit became tough as the earthmover hit a huge boulder necessitating a change in the direction.
According to information reaching here, Chandrasekhar was playing near his house and slid into the borewell, located close-by, to an estimated depth of 15 to 20 feet.
His cries caught the attention of the residents of the area, who alerted the revenue and police officials.
Minister Prathipati Pulla Rao and Vinukonda MLA G.V. Anjaneyulu told the media around 11.30 p.m. that the boy was responding to calls and the chances of rescuing him were bright.
District Collector K. Sasidhar and Guntur Rural SP Ch. V. Appala Naidu were personally supervising the rescue attempts.
Oxygen was being supplied through tubes by the staff of the Medical and Health Department.
The borewell is said to be abandoned and left uncovered by the owner of the field in which it is situated, a few metres away from where Chandrasekhar’s family stays.
According to the police, the incident took place around 5 p.m. and the efforts to save the child by the child’s family and villagers went in vain.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu enquired about the mishap and ordered that all possible steps should be taken to bring out the boy safely.
