Phalodi Borewell Tragedy: 9-Year-Old Trapped for Over 23 Hours; Rescue Ops Stalled by Stuck Boulder, Indigenous Expert Team Deployed

Phalodi (Rajasthan): A high-stakes rescue operation entered its second day in Rajasthan's Phalodi district, where a 9-year-old boy, Bhomaram, has been trapped inside a deep borewell for more than 23 hours. The child fell into an open 1,050-foot borewell around noon on Thursday at Poonia Ki Dhani and is stuck at an estimated depth of 640 feet.

Tension mounted on Friday morning when an endoscopic camera inserted into the borewell stopped registering any movement from the child. Rescue teams reported that the camera encountered an obstruction roughly 30 feet above the child's position. Adding to the gravity of the situation, water seepage has begun inside the shaft due to prolonged operations and groundwater pressure.

A Massive Boulder Blocks the Shaft

The rescue efforts hit a critical impasse due to a large stone wedged inside the pipe just above the child. This boulder prevents rescue pipes, oxygen lines, and surveillance gear from reaching down directly.

To overcome this bottleneck, local engineers and rescuers fabricated an indigenous mechanical apparatus using iron angles welded into a cylindrical claw. This custom rig has been lowered into the shaft to grip and extract the boulder before direct retrieval equipment can be deployed.

Indigenous Rescue Specialist Madharam Suthar Joins Mission

With standard automated equipment facing severe physical limits at 600+ feet, the administration called in veteran borewell extraction specialist Madharam Suthar and his team from Meda Purohitan, Bagoda (Jalore).

Suthar’s specialized crew—including Jagmalram, Bhikaram, Narpat Kumar, Gewaram, Parasram, Samnaram, Tejaram, and Hardan Ram—has a track record of seven successful live borewell rescues across Rajasthan using customized wire-mesh nets and counter-weighted iron grips.

"Our priority is to retrieve the boulder without pushing it down further. Once the path is clear, we will deploy our wire-mesh rig to secure and pull the child up safely, despite the rising water levels," a team member stated on-site.

State Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar visited the spot to oversee logistics alongside administrative and police officers. A medical emergency setup remains stationed at the borehole mouth with life-support and pediatric resuscitation units on standby.