Four-year old dies waiting for help that never came

'Jihad' spent a cold dark night trapped several hundred feet down the pipe of a tubewell, probably looking imploringly into the camera for help that never came.

Out there playing with friends on Friday afternoon, he was failed not once, but twice - cutting too short a life that was lived just over four years.

The contractor of the abandoned tubewell at Shahjahanpur colony only cared where his next money was coming from, not a jot for wellbeing of the people by sealing its mouth off.

The railway superviser did not bother about checking it for himself, either: pointing to the sheer neglect for human life in Bangladesh.

There was more heartbreak lying in wait - for even in his death, Jihad's existence down the pit was denied by professionals known for their skills, single-mindedness and tenacity.

But his excruciatingly long struggle united for a while a deeply divided nation and sparked prayers for a speedy rescue.

For once, political differences took a backseat - if not entirely forgotten - as the sensational, complex operation captured the imagination of millions.

Millions of Bangladeshis watched live TV broadcasts and followed developments on new websites and took to social media to react and share their thoughts.

The gripping story running for 23 hours was full of dramatic twists and turns.

At one stage, rescuers doubted whether anyone was indeed down there but did not give up.

Around 2:30pm on Saturday, Fire Service officials called off the search but locals refused to relent.

Minutes later, Jihad was pulled out but he was already dead.

Doctors at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital said the boy had died several hours before he was brought there.

Jihad's body bore bruise marks apparently from the fall, Dr Riaz Morshed said adding there were evidence of him falling into water as well.

The 14-inch wide entry to the pipe, which went down several hundred feet, was covered only with an empty jute sack.

Railways Director General Tofazzal Hossain on Friday night said a new deep tube-well was being set up nearby without closing down the old one.

"In such cases, it is mandatory to shut off the abandoned pipe's entrance," he told bdnews24.com.

Bangladesh Railway blacklisted the contractor firm SR Housing and fired Senior Sub-Assistant Engineer Jahangir Alam over the incident.

Jihad, while playing with his friends, fell into the pit.

Rescuers and locals rushed to the scene and tried their means to pull him out.

They pumped in oxygen and sent down juice, bottled milk and torchlight.

Jihad responded to the rescuers' calls even several hours after he had fallen down.

But late at night, Fire Service and Civil Defence Director General Ali Ahmed Khan told reporters they lowered a borehole camera down the pipe and searched for an hour without success.

The development gave rise to speculation as to whether it was a hoax.

Later, State Minister for Home Affairs Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal had also made similar remarks.

"...I'm sure there's nobody down there," he said.

Police questioned Jihad's father suspecting the whole thing was staged.

DG Khan said they would continue their search until they were absolutely sure, when asked about sending Jihad drinks and that he had responded to the rescuers.

But optimism slowly gave way to frustration and outrage.

As Fire Service hastily tried to wrap up, several youths took it upon themselves and continued trying different methods to pull the boy out from the death trap, which was later welded shut.

One of them, Shah Mohammad Abdul Moon said they had sent down a manual cable TV camera binding it with an iron rope.

Abdul Majid, an electrician working with the team, said they tried using a 'catcher' Friday night as well but without success.

"We succeeded today after trying for an hour," he said.

The recovery ended the story with an unsettling combination of human ingenuity and neglect.

DG Khan was quick to take credit saying Jihad was rescued with everyone's help.

But the ‘success’ turned out to be an embarrassment for the Fire Service.

"We're really embarrassed," a senior Fire Service official told bdnews24.com.

"We've been discussing the matter among ourselves," he said, wishing not to be named.


(Reporting by Liton Haider, Ashik Hossain and Faisal Atik)