A two-year-old boy fell about 30 feet underground into an abandoned deep tube-well hole in Tanore on Wednesday, as Fire Service teams and local residents continued efforts to rescue him alive. Firefighters said the child was still alive until around 6:30pm.
The incident occurred around 12:30pm in a field at Koelhat Purba Para village in Panchandar Union. The boy, Swadhin, is the son of Rakib Uddin of the same village.
Locals alleged that Taher, the owner of the abandoned deep tube-well, had left the pipe opening uncovered for a long time without any safety measures, leading to the accident.
Local residents Anwar Hossain and Jalal Uddin said a trolley carrying soil became stuck in the field around noon. Rakib and his wife went to inspect it, taking their child with them. The boy got down from his mother’s lap and was walking nearby when he suddenly fell into the hole.
The child’s mother, Runa Khatun, said: “While we were looking at the trolley stuck in the soil, my baby got down from my lap. He fell into the hole and started crying loudly. We can hear him crying from inside the hole, but we can’t see him.”
Abdul Rauf, an officer of the Tanore Fire Service, said: “We have been trying to rescue the child for six hours. If God helps us, we will be able to rescue him alive. The rescue operation is ongoing.”
Tanore Upazila Nirbahi Officer Naima Khan said: “This is a heartbreaking incident. Everyone, please pray that the child is rescued safely and returns to his mother’s arms.”
