Sujith Wilson: Indian toddler trapped in well dies

The body of Sujith Wilson was pulled from the abandoned borewell hours after officials confirmed his death in a press conference in southern Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirapalli district early Tuesday.

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His remains will be cremated near his village of Nadukattupatti later in the day after a church service, officials said. On Tuesday, villagers laid leaves of the calotropis, or milkweed plant, across local roads in accordance with a Hindu belief that they would ward against further accidents.

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Sitting inside the family’s modest farm house, Wilson’s mother Kala Mary told CNN: “My courageous son doesn’t deserve the fatal end.”

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Indians had followed every development in the days-long rescue attempt, with the hashtags #prayforsurjeeth and #sujithwilson trending on social media and Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeting his support.

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Wilson fell down the borewell — a deep well drilled into the ground for irrigation or drinking water, often dug by farmers and left unmarked — near his home at about 5:45 p.m. Friday.

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More than 500 people joined the 80-hour operation to save him, which included pumping oxygen into the pit and drilling another shaft parallel to the well. But it was beset by challenges.

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Rescuers were able to dig down to 13.7 meters (45 feet) but were delayed by bad weather and difficult terrain underground.

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“We had to stop the work multiple times for short durations … due to the showers,” Tamil Nadu official T. Shanthi said. She added that a blade used in the drilling was damaged when it hit the rock, slowing the operation.

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Images showed Wilson trapped in the muddy well with his arms pinned above his head.

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By Monday night local time, rescue teams realized the boy had died. His body was retrieved from the well “in a decomposed state,” according to Trichy district official S. Sivarasu.

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The incident has sparked calls for tougher penalties for open borewells.

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“No one should meet the same fate as Sujith,” resident Shanmugam C said.

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Sivarasu said that citizens should be aware about the dangers of the open wells. “The rules are stringent,” she said. “But there is a lapse in the implementation. The district administration will be spreading awareness about it.”

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