Cuttack: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team from Odisha who had earned praises in Chhattisgarh after the rescue of Rahul Sahu, the 11-year-old boy who had fallen into an 80-feet deep abandoned borewell, received a warm welcome after arriving in Cuttack and today, in a press meet, shared their experience of the rescue operation.
Rahul had fallen into the abandoned borewell located in the backyard of his house at Pihrid village in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district at around 2 pm on June 10. Hours later, the district administration launched a rescue operation. Officials from the NDRF from Mundali in Cuttack had also been called to join the mission to save Rahul.
After reaching there, the NDRF team asked the district administration about the condition of the child, the size and depth of the borewell, and the terrain. They learned that Rahul is a 10-11-year-old differently-abled (Divyang) child who is trapped at a depth of 60 feet, and the size of the borewell was 8 inches.
The NDRF team advised the district administration to ensure oxygen supply for Rahul and to clear the area as the presence of bystanders may be dangerous for the child. Further, they decided to dig a tunnel 10 feet away from the borewell and it should be similar to the depth where Rahul is trapped.
The family members of Rahul were also advised by the NDRF to interact with him as emotional support is needed in such an operation. Rahul was supplied with bananas, fruit drinks, and ORS drinks. As he did not take the ORS drink bottle, the NDRF deceived him to drink it by pouring the ORS drink into a fruit drink packet.
While Rahul was been provided with food and drinks at intervals, another team was working out the plan to rescue him out of the borewell.
As Rahul was a Divyang, the NDRF team interacted with his young brother and cousin sister to understand Rahul better. They came to know that Rahul will not be able to hold a loop sent by the NDRF due to abnormalities in one of his hands. The team would have pulled him out if he had been able to hold the loop.
Therefore, the NDRF dropped the plan and asked the district administration to bring in big machines for the digging. The district administration provided full support. However, the presence of dolomite stones hampered the work of digging. The dust of the stones was also entering the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth of the rescue team. They were able to dig till 57 feet and tried to reach near Rahul.
Another problem was the vibration during digging as there was no casing or pipe in the borewell. It posed a danger as the mud and rocks may collapse over Rahul and the water inside the borewell may rise due to the debris and may suffocate him. In order to avoid the entrance of water into the tunnel, the NDRF had advised the district administration to keep all the borewells in the area running. The team was also pulling out excess water from the tunnel.
The next problem during the rescue operation was when Rahul got tired, he entered a cavity inside the borewell and stopped taking food and drinks. He was also not obeying the instructions of the rescue team. The NDRF team continued the rescue operation without taking any food and rest. They used to consult a doctor to understand Rahul’s health condition through his breathing schedule.
The team finally reached Rahul but had to bring him out of the cavity before rescuing him. First, they blocked the borewell from the inside to avoid the debris from falling down. Subsequently, they found a crack and chiseled it to make a way for a hand to reach Rahul and pull him out.
He was rescued safely at 11:58 pm on June 14, after almost 104 hours. Chhattisgarh Government created a green corridor to shift him to a hospital in Bilaspur. Following the rescue, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister stated that Rahul Sahu has been brought out safely with everyone’s prayers and the relentless, dedicated efforts of the rescue team.
