(Newser)
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Rescuers in India have managed to save a 10-year-old boy who was trapped for almost five days in an 80-foot well. Rahul Sahu fell 60 feet into the well in the village of Janjgir in Chhattisgarh state, per the BBC, which reports such uncovered wells are common in the country’s farming villages. Days before Rahul fell into the bore well on Friday, an 18-month-old child was rescued from another well in Gujarat’s Dudapur village, where his family members work as agricultural laborers, reports the Mirror.
While that child was reportedly rescued within an hour, Rahul—a boy with hearing and speech impairments who fell into the well while playing in his own backyard, per AFP—had to wait 104 hours, with a snake and frog for company, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel says, per the Mirror. AFP reports “venomous snakes and scorpions” played a role in impeding the rescue effort, as engineers worked to dig a 70-foot tunnel parallel to the two-foot-wide well shaft, to which was added a camera, oxygen tube, and at least one banana. Janjgir District Police Chief Vijay Agrawal told the outlet that the fact that Rahul “cannot speak or listen” presented another challenge.
The two shafts were finally connected with a 15-foot tunnel. Video footage shows rescuers carrying the boy from the area on a stretcher around 11pm local time Tuesday. “With everyone’s prayers and the relentless, dedicated efforts of the rescue team, Rahul Sahu has been brought out safely,” Baghel said, adding “the whole of Chhattisgarh is celebrating.” The boy was listed in stable condition in the hospital. “It is our wish that he recovers completely as soon as possible,” Baghel said. (Read more India stories.)
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