An overnight rescue operation successfully recovered a 19-month-old girl from a dry artesian well on Tuesday, 18 hours after she fell down the hole at a cassava farm in northern Thailand.
Rescuers cheered and cheered as the little girl, the daughter of migrant workers from Myanmar, was pulled from the 49-foot deep shaft and placed on a stretcher that carried her to a waiting ambulance.
“Great job, guys. We did it!” exclaimed a rescuer as his colleagues in Phop Phra district of Tak province wept and hugged each other.
The little girl fell into the hole late Monday afternoon while her parents were working on the plantation.
THAI POLICE COMMISSIONER APOLOGIZES FOR ALLEGED EXTORTION OF TAIWANESE ACTOR
The deep pit, dug by the landowner to be an artesian well, was left uncovered after it failed to hit groundwater, Phop Phra district chief Sanya Phetset told Thairath TV on Tuesday.
The first responders to arrive on the scene screamed into the hole and heard the baby crying back, local media reported. A camera was then lowered into the hole to monitor the situation, after which a tube was inserted to supply oxygen.
Rescuers and the military carry a child from a deep hole in Tak province, Thailand, February 7, 2023. The child fell into the hole used for groundwater pipes last night. (AP Photo/Chiravuth Rungjamratratsami)
Rescuers dug overnight along the pit, about 12 inches wide, using several backhoes and other digging devices.
THAILAND TO EXTRADITE SUSPECT TO US IN $100M NJ DELI SCHEME
“At first it seemed like an easy task because it looked like loose earth, but once we started digging we found rock, which made it difficult because excavators can’t dig through it,” Sanya said.
He explained that the operation was delicate because the excavation risked causing the sides of the well to collapse on the child.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The boy was immediately sent to Phop Phra Hospital after being brought to safety.
“She’s safe now. She’s a little tired but it’s nothing serious,” said Sanya.
