Mahi is dead; end came on first or second day, doctors say (Second Lead)
June 24th, 2012 - 6:08 pm ICT by IANSManesar (Haryana), June 24 (IANS) Mahi, the four-year-old girl who was trapped in a narrow and deep borewell here for 86 agonizing hours, was Sunday declared dead after rescuers reached her through a parallel tunnel. Doctors said she might have died on the day she fell or on the next day since her body had decomposed.
Gurgaon officials said she was dead even before soldiers who had been working non-stop for days finally made contact with the child just after noon.
Backing the military was a group of men adept in digging tunnels and borewells led by a Saurav Khan.
Doctors, after a post-mortem examination of Mahi’s body, said her body had decomposed.
“She might have died the same or the next day,” Deepak Mathur, who along with B.B. Agrawal, conducted the post-mortem, told IANS. The examination report has not yet been prepared.
The girl’s body has been handed over to the parents, an attendant said.
The girl accidentally fell into the 70-feet deep borewell at the IMT township just before midnight Wednesday, sparking a major rescue operation involving the army and civilian agencies.
The first confirmation of her death came to IANS Sunday from Chief Medical Officer Praveen Garg of the Civil Hospital here.
A short time later, Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner P.C. Meena too confirmed that the girl was dead before she was taken out of the borewell and rushed to the ESI Hospital in Manesar town.
The news shattered the thousands of people who had gathered outside the hospital and at the site of the borewell for days, hoping and praying that the girl would somehow survive.
The girl’s mother broke down on hearing that her daughter was no more.
When soldiers digging through Thursday and Friday hit rocky patches, officials decided to rope in the Rapid Metro as well as Delhi Metro, both of which have specialized digging equipment.
According to Gurgaon police, a four-year-old girl had similarly fallen into a deep borewell in the same area Feb 26, 2004. But he was rescued, thanks to the initiative of a police officer, Usman Ali.
–Indo-Asian news Service
pradeep/sog/vm
- After 86 long hours, Mahi is dead (Lead) - Jun 24, 2012
- Anger, sorrow as Mahi dies in Haryana borewell (Roundup) - Jun 24, 2012
- GPRS deployed for Mahi's rescue operation - Jun 22, 2012
- Mahi trapped in borewell not responding to calls (Lead) - Jun 21, 2012
- Mahi is dead, says doctor - Jun 24, 2012
- Rescue operations still on for baby in borewell - Jun 22, 2012
- Girl out of borewell, taken to hospital (Lead) - Jun 24, 2012
- Girl remains trapped for over 60 hours in borewell - Jun 23, 2012
- Four-year-old falls in borewell in Haryana - Jun 21, 2012
- Notice to village head in Mahi's death in borewell - Jun 26, 2012
- Two held for digging illegal borewell in Gurgaon - Jun 28, 2012
- Man who dug Mahi's death trap sent to jail - Jul 08, 2012
- Child rights panel seeks report on abandoned borewells - Jun 24, 2012
- Teenager falls into well in West Bengal - Jun 24, 2012
- Six people responsible for Mahi's death, says inquiry - Sep 21, 2012
Tags: agonizing hours, army, confirmation, delhi metro, deputy commissioner, doctors, garg, haryana, june 24, mathur, medical officer, mortem examination, old girl, post mortem, rescuers, rocky patches, rope, saurav, short time, tunnels