5-yr-old rescued from 50-feet pit after 2 days

Army personnel on Sunday evening rescued a six-year-old boy who had fallen into a 50-feet pit on Friday evening.

Two army men pulled out the six-year-old Army soldiers and experts from the fire service and air force dug a tunnel from a dried up well parallel to the narrow and dark pit, only 16 inches wide.

The boy, Prince, fell into the pit at a construction site at Haldheri village near Kurukshetra while he was playing.

As the rescuers were working on reaching the child, who turned six on Saturday, hundreds of people gathered at the site from nearby villages and towns, holding their breath in anticipation of the boy's safe rescue.

Rescuers used a closed circuit camera to monitor Prince's condition and talk to him. They also sent food and water to the boy.

Prince's father Ram Chander, who works as a farm hand, told reporters, "I have been praying for the safe rescue of my son ever since he got stuck in the pit." The boy's mother Karamjeet joined him in the prayers.

Across the country, people of all faiths had prayed for the boy.

Oxygen was supplied into the pit through a pipe.

Rescuers said their efforts were hampered this morning by rains as well as a problem with the alignment of the tunnel dug by the rescuers at a short distance from the pit.

Brig J Mann, the Army officer coordinating the operation, said the rescuers did not want to take any risk to ensure that Prince was not put in further danger as the soil at the bottom of the pit was very soft and there was a danger of a cave-in.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kurukshetra MP Navin Jindal and some other leaders camped at the site to monitor the rescue. The Haryana government announced it would bear the expenses for the rescue effort besides footing all the medical expenses on Prince.

In Ahmedabad, citizens organised prayers for Prince while a group of people placed a 'chadar' at the dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer.

People from across the country also SMSed messages to TV news channels that extensively covered the rescue efforts.

The Sikh community started a langar (community kitchen) to offer food to rescuers and other people at the site.

A team of doctors, which was on standby at the spot, examined Prince as soon as he was pulled out.

Prince was said to be playing in a street, where the village panchayat was getting a submersible tube well bored for supplying drinking water to the people, when he fell in.

People on Friday had first thrown a rope for Prince to catch hold of, but the boy lost his grip and slipped further down. The army team from nearby Ambala was then called in to rescue him.

Army chief J J Singh congratulated the army men involved in the rescue. He said he could not identify the army unit involved in the rescue for operational reasons.

The Centre and the Haryana government each announced Rs 2 lakh for Prince.