BHOPAL: Eleven bodies were pulled out of the collapsed well in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha on Friday. The dead include a father and son, who were among those who had rushed to rescue a 13-year-old boy from the well, which caved in under their weight on Thursday night.
The body of the teenager, Ravi Ahirwar, was among the last to be found. “After 24 hours, the rescue operation is over, but we will barricade it and continue searching for two more days,” CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted around 11pm on Friday.
Chouhan announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the kin of those killed, and a compensation of Rs 50,000 each to the injured. He monitored the rescue operation from the situation room at Mantralaya, and interacted virtually with officials who were on the site. He has ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too expressed anguish, over the loss of life and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the dead.
In a hamlet of barely 50-60 families, not a house has been left untouched by the tragedy. Amid the wails of the kin of those dead, was the cry of the boy’s father. Rescuers arrived three hours late, said an anguished Omkar Ahirwar on Friday even as rescuers frantically tried to pump out the water. The perennial well, which proved a boon for the village in summer, turned out to be a major hurdle in rescue operations. Barely 200m from a pond and 400m from a river, it filled up faster than pumps could drain it.
Rescuers came after 3 hrs: Father of boy killed in Vidisha
Omkar hadn’t left the site in nearly 24 hours. He collapsed in sobs as his son’s body was finally pulled out.
“My boys Ravi and Sanjay had come here to fetch water around 6pm. Ravi lost his footing and fell into the well. Sanjay screamed for help and two villagers, who were nearby, immediately jumped in but they couldn’t find my son,” said Omkar.
Meanwhile, Sanjay ran from house to house shouting for help. In the close-knit community, a crowd of around 50 gathered quickly at the well to look for him. The concrete slab that ringed it couldn’t take the load and caved in, pulling the rescuers into the water.
“I tried calling dial 100 and the CM helpline but network was poor. They didn't give a proper response. Then, the well caved in,” said Omkar, adding that a rescue team arrived after 3 hours. By then, villagers had pulled out nine persons with ropes.
NDRF and SDRF personnel rescued around 20 people. The village, in Ganjbasoda area, is around 100km from Bhopal.
DGP Vivek Johri said earlier on Friday all possible efforts are being made to trace those missing. Policemen, NDRF and administrative officials spent a sleepless night in the rescue effort, he said, adding: “The continuous natural flow of water into the well made our operations difficult.”
