A four-year-old boy who fell into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in Haryana's Ambala district died after being pulled out following a nearly 21-hour multi-agency rescue operation early on Wednesday. The child, identified as Nirvair Singh, was rescued at around 3.40 am and rushed by ambulance to the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantonment, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.

The incident occurred at around 6.30 am on Tuesday in Dhaneora village. According to family members, Nirvair had accompanied his father, Manjit, to agricultural fields to deliver food to his grandfather, Karnail Singh, who was working there. While the grandfather was eating and Manjit resumed work in the field, the child wandered off to play nearby. Family members said Nirvair noticed an uncovered borewell and began throwing soil into it. As he leaned over to look inside, the wet ground surrounding the opening allegedly gave way, causing him to fall into the narrow shaft.

After hearing a loud sound, Manjit and other family members rushed to the borewell and repeatedly called out to the child. When they were unable to rescue him, they alerted the authorities at around 7.30 am. Emergency teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Army were immediately deployed to the site. Senior district officials, including Deputy Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar, also reached the location to oversee the rescue efforts.

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Officials said the borewell was approximately nine inches in diameter and extended to a depth of around 220 feet, making the rescue operation extremely challenging. Rescue personnel used heavy machinery and specialised equipment to dig a parallel pit and reach the child safely. The operation continued through the day and night, with teams working under difficult conditions in an effort to save the boy. Despite their sustained efforts, Nirvair was found unresponsive when rescuers finally reached him.

Deputy Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar said the district administration acted promptly after receiving information about the incident and mobilised all available emergency response agencies. Medical personnel remained on standby throughout the operation, but doctors at the Civil Hospital confirmed that the child had already succumbed to his injuries by the time he was brought to the emergency ward.

The tragedy has once again drawn attention to the dangers posed by abandoned and uncovered borewells in rural areas. Similar incidents in the past have prompted repeated calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations requiring unused borewells to be properly sealed. Authorities are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, while the death of the four-year-old has left the local community in mourning and renewed concerns over the need for stronger preventive measures to avoid such accidents.

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