Ambala, July 1, 2026
A four-year-old boy, who fell into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in Haryana’s Ambala district, was declared dead after he was pulled out following an over 20-hour rescue operation early Wednesday, officials said.
Nirbhay had slipped into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in Ambala’s Dhanaura village early on Tuesday.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administration, and the Indian Army had initiated an extensive rescue operation to save the child. However, after a 21-hour-long operation, when Nirbhay was taken out at around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday and taken to the Ambala City Civil Hospital, he was declared ‘brought dead’ by the doctors, officials said.
The mortal remains of the child have been kept in the mortuary at Ambala Cantonment Civil Hospital and will be handed over to the family after the post-mortem examination.
Speaking to the reporters, Medical Officer Dr Rishipal said, “After several hours of continuous efforts, the child was finally brought out and immediately shifted to the emergency department. Even at the rescue site, we observed that the child’s condition was extremely critical. When he was brought to the hospital, we conducted an ECG, which confirmed that the child had already passed away. The body has now been shifted to the mortuary.”
“The exact cause of the death would only be known after a post-mortem examination,” he added.
Earlier, the family had expressed satisfaction over the rescue operations when the child was pulled out, and his condition was not yet known.
Nirbhay’s uncle, speaking to the reporters, said, “The administration extended full support to us. The villagers, the police, the Army, and all the rescue teams helped us throughout the operation. The villagers also cooperated wholeheartedly. The child was finally brought out, and the medical team immediately took him.”
However, the child was confirmed to have passed away by the hospital officials.
Nirbhay fell into the approximately nine-inch-wide borewell in Dhanaura village under Barara around 6.30 a.m. while accompanying his father to the family’s agricultural fields, officials said.
According to officials, Nirbhay’s father, Manjit, had gone to deliver breakfast to the child’s grandfather, Karnail Singh, who had been working in the fields since early morning.
The child was reportedly playing nearby while the adults were busy with work. Officials said he noticed the open borewell and began throwing handfuls of soil into it.
According to preliminary information, the ground around the borewell had become wet and slippery. While leaning forward to look inside, the child is believed to have lost his balance and fallen into the deep shaft.
As soon as they realised the child had fallen into the borewell, his father and grandfather rushed to the spot and repeatedly called out his name. Family members and villagers also made desperate attempts to rescue him, but the narrow opening of the borewell made it impossible to pull him out.(Agency)
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