Rescue operations continued for the third day on Sunday to bring out a two-old boy, who fell into an abandoned borewell near Tiruchirappalli, with a new borewell being drilled but without much success.
A more powerful rig has been, reportedly, requested to drill the new borewell after the drilling bit of the earlier one became blunt because of the rocky terrain.
The boy had fallen into the borewell on Friday while playing near his house and rescue operations had started around 6pm. Initially, the boy was stuck at a depth of 35 feet but later slipped down further to over 70 feet.
State Health and Family Welfare Minister C. Vijayabaskar and Tourism Minister 'Vellamandi' N. Nagarajan, who have been camping at the site since Friday night, said all efforts were on to rescue the child.
The rescue efforts, reportedly, are being led by officials of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Larsen and Toubro, Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited, along with the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force.
Talking to reporters, J. Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation department, said modern equipment were being used in the rescue efforts.
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Noting that standard operating procedures were being followed, he said, "A parallel borewell is being dug. Efforts are on. We have a technical team at the spot comprising officials from L&T, ONGC and Neyveli Lignite Corporation."
"The chief minister has issued orders to ensure that rescue efforts were carried out without any hindrance," he said, adding around 300 people were involved in the work.
The boy was being continuously monitored and oxygen supplied to him, Radhakrishnan said.
Meanwhile, celebrities and politicians joined thousands of people in praying for the well-being of the boy. Special prayers were held across the Tamil Nadu for his safe return.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, said, "While the nation celebrates Deepavali, in Tamil Nadu a race against time is underway to save baby Surjeeth, who has been trapped in a borewell since Friday. I pray that he will be rescued and reunited with his distraught parents at the earliest. #savesurjeeth"
Tamil superstar Rajinikanth and actor-politician Kamal Hassan also expressed hope that the boy would be safely rescued.
Speaking to reporters at his residence, Rajinikanth said, "I pray for the safe rescue of the boy. Parents should take care of children and precautionery measures should have been taken," he said.
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan expressed concern over repeated incidents of children falling into defunct borewells.
"Efforts to rescue the child who is in danger should succeed. The government should impose hefty fine on those who left borewells open," he tweeted.
(With PTI inputs)