Child dies after 21-hour rescue from open borewell in Haryana's Ambala
A four-year-old boy, Nirvair Singh, who fell into a 220-foot-deep open borewell in Haryana's Ambala district, was declared dead after being pulled out following a 21-hour rescue operation early on Wednesday (July 1, 2026).
Nirvair was taken out from the borewell at around 3.40 a.m. after a multi-agency operation that began on Tuesday (June 30) morning. He was immediately shifted to the Civil Hospital in Ambala Cantonment, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The incident occurred at around 6.30 a.m. on Tuesday in Dhaneora village. Nirvair had accompanied his father, Manjit, to the fields to deliver food to his grandfather, Karnail Singh. While his grandfather ate, Nirvair wandered off to play near an open borewell. He began throwing soil into it, and the wet soil around the borewell is believed to have given way as he leaned over to look inside, causing him to slip and fall.
Manjit said they heard a loud sound and rushed to the borewell. Family members and villagers initially attempted a rescue but alerted authorities at around 7.30 a.m. when their efforts failed. Deputy Commissioner Ajay Singh Tomar and other officials reached the spot, and rescue teams from the NDRF, SDRF, and the Army launched an extensive operation.
Mr. Tomar said the borewell, approximately nine inches in diameter, was about 220 feet deep. He stated that the administration acted immediately and mobilised emergency response teams. Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij also visited the site on Tuesday evening to review the operation and met the child's family.
The Deputy Commissioner said the police had been directed to initiate action against those responsible for leaving the borewell open. He urged farmers to keep borewells covered, noting that the tragedy could have been prevented with proper sealing.
This incident comes shortly after a similar case in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district, where a four-year-old boy was rescued after falling into a newly dug borewell. In 2006, a five-year-old boy in Haryana's Kurukshetra district was rescued after a 48-hour operation that gripped the nation.
