The rescue operations to save six-year-old Timmanna Hatti, who fell into an open borewell at a farm in Sulikeri village of Badami taluk on Sunday, continued on Monday. Half a dozen earthmovers were pressed into service for digging a parallel trench to extricate the child. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, along with mining experts of Hatti Gold Mines, Raichur, were part of the operations.
While the earthmovers are digging a trench, Mandya-based M. Manjegowda, has brought his equipment to help in the operations. However, his operation packed up after two attempts to retrieve the child from a depth of around 150 ft, where he is reportedly stuck.
Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Manjegowda, who has designed a machine for such operations, said his equipment failed to reach the boy as the diameter of the machine was wider than the hole of the borewell. “If I continue to use the machine, soil may collapse on the boy. I will have to try another method to reduce the diameter,” he said.
District in-charge Minister S.R. Patil, who is camping at the site and monitoring the operations, also admitted that the machine could not do the work. However, he said Basavaraj Hiremath, of the NDRF, has succeeded in fastening a rope around the boy’s wrist, and was attempting to do the same with the other hand to pull the boy out.
Meanwhile, K. Madiyalagal, the rescue supervisor of the Hatti Gold Mines, said digging a parallel trench of over 150 ft deep was a Herculean task. “It is like digging to the depth of a 15-storey building,” he said. He added that it was laborious and time consuming. If they come in contact with hard rock, the task would be even harder. The police and other members involved in the rescue operations are finding it tough to control the milling crowd and are trying hard to manoeuvre vehicles through the sugarcane field. Amid this, doctors are supplying oxygen to the child. However, there is fear with every passing hour.
