Boy stuck for four days in abandoned well dies despite rescue attempts
Despite efforts to rescue him, little Sujith Wilson had fallen 100ft underground and did not survive.
Tuesday 29 October 2019 05:13, UK
A two-year-old boy has died after days of being stuck in an abandoned bore well in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Sujith Wilson fell about 25ft (7.6m) into the well on Friday, prompting a massive rescue attempt.
As rescuers set about digging a parallel tunnel to reach him, he fell further, leaving him about 100ft (30m) underground.
Oxygen was pumped into the well and thermal imaging cameras had detected heat on Saturday afternoon.
However, on Tuesday rescuers began to smell what turned out to be Sujith's decomposing body.
He was confirmed dead on Tuesday morning local time, having been without food or water for more than four days.
J Radhakrishnan, principal secretary in the Transport Department and the relief commissioner, told India's NDTV: "We tried our best to rescue him but unfortunately foul smell has started coming from the bore well in which the child had fallen.
"The digging process has been stopped."
Rescue efforts had been hampered by difficulties in getting the drilling machines to penetrate the rocky ground.
Health Minister of Tamil Nadu state C Vijayabaskar had told The Hindu that the rock was tougher than expected, adding: "Even the high powered rigs have struggled to break through the rock."