Express News Service
RAIPUR: The 105 hours long rescue operation ‘Mission Save Rahul’, braving the adverse challenges for four days was on Tuesday late night managed to safely take out 11-year-old Rahul Sahu, who fell in a borewell at Janjgir-Champa district, about 220 km east of Raipur.
District collector Jitendra Shukla confirmed that Rahul had seen the rescue team through a tunnel created parallel close to the pit where he was stuck. “The boy seems stable and apparently showing movement. He has been rushed to the hospital”, he added.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with Indian Army and senior government officials encountered a major challenge to break through the rocks both by heavy duty machines and manually. Owing to underground rocky terrain the rescue team had to struggle to dig a parallel tunnel to reach the borewell and evacuate Rahul to safety.
The vigilant army men entered through the tunnel with the stretcher and oxygen cylinder while entering the pit where Rahul was stuck.
“To cut through the major granite stones emerged as a major hurdle and took much of our time. We even had to resort to the manual attempts cautiously and slowly to ensure no risk for Rahul as the tunnel route was created parallel to reach him and take him out safely”, said the collector.
Since Friday evening the spot witnessed extensive involvement of NDRF, SDRF, Army, state government officials and other expert teams including the one from Gujarat that supported the mission with remote-operated robots. Rescue team with heavy machines from the South Eastern Coalfield Limited Korba coal mines, adept to handle any instant untoward incident in underground mines, were pressed into action from the second day of the incident.
On Tuesday the trapped mentally challenged and deaf Rahul, who fell into the borewell while playing close to his house at Pihrid village in Malkharoda block, showed listless movement though his health condition remained stable and was routinely monitored, the officials said.
During the operation, the oxygen was supplied through a pipe in the borewell, the rescue team also provided juice and banana to Rahul at different intervals. Stretchers, ambulances and a team of doctors were kept on alert mode at the spot.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel remained in constant touch with the officials who were at the spot supervising the operations and he also spoke to the boy’s parents over the phone to strengthen their will power.
Rahul was rushed through the green corridor via a special route cleared for an ambulance that took him to.
His condition today remained stable.
