After 90 long hours, Mahi is dead

Haryana: Mahi, the four-year-old girl who got trapped in a narrow and deep borewell here for 90 agonising hours, was declared dead on Sunday after rescuers reached her through a parallel tunnel.

Gurgaon officials said she was dead even before soldiers who had been working non-stop for days finally made contact with the child just after noon.

Backing the military was a group of men adept in digging tunnels and borewells led by Saurav Khan.

The girl accidentally fell into the 70-feet deep borewell at the IMT township just before midnight on Wednesday, sparking a major rescue operation involving the army and civilian agencies.

The first confirmation of her death came on Sunday from chief medical officer Praveen Garg of the Civil Hospital here.

A short time later, Gurgaon deputy commissioner P.C. Meena too confirmed that the girl was dead before she was taken out of the borewell and rushed to the ESI Hospital in Manesar town.

The news shattered the thousands of people who had gathered outside the hospital and at the site of the borewell for days, hoping and praying that the girl would somehow survive.

The girl’s mother broke down on hearing that her daughter was no more.

When soldiers digging through Thursday and Friday hit rocky patches, officials decided to rope in the Rapid Metro as well as Delhi Metro, both of which have specialised digging equipment.

According to Gurgaon police, a four-year-old boy had similarly fallen into a deep borewell in the same area February 26, 2004. But he was rescued, thanks to the initiative of police officer, Usman Ali.