Rescuers save 12-year-old boy whose neck got ‘locked’ under 1.5-tonne boulders

Sumesh Rajan

Mumbai: 13 July 2020

In a herculean task, rescue workers in Tamil Nadu state of India, rescued a 12-year-old boy who got stuck under heavy boulders weighing over 1.5 tonnes on July 12.

In the morning hours, Adithya Veerachamy was herding his family goats in the hilly pastures outside his village – Mela Kothampatti in Tiruchirappalli district. Sitting atop a hillock he was fidgeting with his mobile phone when it slipped off his hand and fell through a crack in the rocks. Trying to retrieve the phone, Adithya put his head through the crevice and tried to grab the phone by his hands. Unfortunately, the heavy boulders slipped and trapped his body. Unable to move he lay motionless for a couple hours before some villagers passing by noticed his legs jutting out, and called the nearest fire and rescue staff for help.

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“We received a call from the villagers at around 11.30 am and rushed to spot. There we found the boy trapped waist upwards beneath three heavy boulders each weighing over 1.5 tonnes. It seems that to retrieve his phone, the boy tried to slide through the narrow crevice head downwards. But, while doing so, the boulders got loosened and locked him in. With the boulders closing around his neck, the boy’s head was stuck inside,” informed Lead Fireman P V Satish Kumar of Thuraiyur Fire & Rescue Department who along with his team of eight members carried out the rescue under the guidance of Station Officer R Arivazhagan.

He added, “As the spot was atop a hillock about 200 feet high, it was not possible to take the help of a crane or JCB to lift the boulders. Hence, we decided to coil the boulders with industrial rope and lift all three of them at one go. With the help of the villagers who had gathered there in large numbers, we were able to loosen the boulders and get the boy’s head out.”

“It was not an easy task. It had to crawl into the narrow gap between the boulders. And as my team members along with villagers with their combine strength tugged at the boulders loosening the gap a bit, I had to cautiously pull out the boy so as to not to cause any injury to his neck or head,” said Satish Kumar.

“The rescue operation lasted about an hour, and the boy was rescued safely. As he was dehydrated, doctors gave him glucose after which he was sent home,” said Station Officer R Arivazhagan.