Child pulled out after 32 hours in Rajshahi borehole declared dead

Firefighters has used a side tunnel to reach him before rushing him to hospital

A 2-year-old boy rescued in Rajshahi’s Tanore from an abandoned deep tube well after 32 hours has died.

The child was retrieved through a tunnel dug next to the well and taken to hospital in an unconscious state, where doctors declared him dead.

Brigadier General Mohammad Jahed Kamal, director general of the Fire Service, confirmed the death on Thursday at 10:15pm.

The boy, Sajid Hossain, was the son of Rakibul Islam from Koelhat Purba Para village in Panchandar Union.

The prolonged rescue attempt drew nationwide attention as firefighters worked through the night to reach him.

He slipped into the borehole around 1:30pm on Wednesday while walking behind his mother near a paddy field beside their home.

His mother Runa Khatun said, “I was walking to the field with both of my children to collect paddy straw. I put Sajid down from my arms. He was following me. When I looked back, he wasn’t there. Then I heard him calling ‘ma, ma’ from inside the hole.”

Local authorities and the Fire Service immediately began a coordinated rescue operation after being alerted.