Indian rescuers struggle to reach boy, eight, trapped in well

Tanmay Sahu fell into a borewell in Madhya Pradesh state on Tuesday evening

Rescuers in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh dig into a borewell to reach a trapped 10-year-old deaf and mute boy. AFP

Efforts to rescue a young boy from a 120-metre well in central India continued for a third day on Thursday, with officials saying rocks have slowed down the operation.

Tanmay Sahu, eight, fell into the borewell on a farm in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh state at about 5pm on Tuesday.

Officials believe he is trapped about 17 metres down.

“Excavation is going on and about 33 feet [10 metres] of excavation have been done," Betul Additional District Magistrate Shyamendra Jaiswal said on Wednesday.

Rescuers plan to dig a tunnel about 14 metres into the well, the Asia News International agency reported.

"It might take some time as there are hard stones in the way," Mr Jaiswal said.

"The child, however, is not responding, as he might have fallen unconscious."

The boy’s father, Sunil Sahu, said his 12-year-old daughter saw her brother fall into the well while playing in a field.

“We immediately rushed to the spot. He was breathing and we listened to his sound from the borewell,” Mr Sahu said.

He said the rescue operation began an hour later.

In June, a deaf and mute boy was rescued after he was trapped for more than four days in an 18-metre well in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

A similar incident occurred in Morocco this year and received worldwide attention.

Rescuers dug for five days to reach Rayan Aourram, a five-year-old boy who fell more than 30 metres into a narrow well on February 1, but he was pronounced dead shortly after being extracted.