72-year-old woman, stuck in borewell for over 24 hrs, dies

BALANGIR: A 72-year-old woman, who accidentally fell into an abandoned, 20-feet deep borewell on Monday morning, died following her rescue on Tuesday after spending more than 24 hours stuck inside the well. The incident took place near Kainphul Chowk, under Sadar block of Subarnapur district.
Dukhi Negi of Gobindpur village was staying in the house of her married daughter at Kasurupali village.On Monday morning, Negi, a widow, went out to collect cane grass to make a broom. "While searching for the grass in a bushy field near the village, she may have accidentally fell into the well," said Amaresh Panda, superintendent of police, Subarnapur.
When she did not return till late in the evening, the family members got worried. Akrura Badmali, the woman's son-in-law said he and some villagers went looking for her when she did not return home. "We searched for her the entire night. We found the sickle she was carrying near the well. When we looked inside the well, we spotted her. After that we informed the police," said Badmali, a farmer.
A rescue attempt was launched by the police and fire brigade personnel around 8 am on Tuesday.
A team of Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force from Boudh joined the operation, which lasted six hours.
They dug a parallel bore close to the well and reached the depth where the woman was stuck. Panda said the woman was not responding to the command of her rescuers. The rescue team provided oxygen supply to help her breathe.
"Her pulse rate was low after she was taken out of the well. She was taken to the district headquarters hospital, but the doctor declared her brought dead," said Panda.
The rescue team found a crate snake inside the well near the victim, but it is not clear whether the woman died due to snakebite.
"We are trying to locate the person who had the borewell dug up and then left it abandoned. Action will be taken against the person," Panda said.