A two-year-old boy, who fell into an open manhole in Surat city of Gujarat, was found dead on Thursday nearly 24 hours after the incident and his body was recovered from a nearby underground tank of a sewage pumping station, officials said.
The victim, Kedar Vegad, fell into a sewage line in Variav area of Surat around 5.30 pm on Wednesday and his body was recovered around 5 pm on Thursday nearly 400 metres away from that spot, they said.
"Following a 24-hour-long search operation, the body of the boy was recovered from an underground tank of a sewage pumping station connected to the sewage line," Deputy chief fire officer of Surat, S D Dhobi, said.
One team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also joined the search and rescue operation carried out by the Surat Fire and Emergency Services (SFES), he said.
Kedar's mother Vaishali Vegad told reporters on Wednesday that her son fell into the sewer through an open manhole when she was taking him to an ice-cream shop in Variav area in the evening.
Dhobi said that after being alerted about the incident, the SFES swung into action and started a search and rescue operation.
"Apart from carrying out a search inside the sewage line with the help of oxygen kits and cameras, we also deployed a boat to look for the boy in the creek area where the drainage line opens. A team of the NDRF was called in to expedite the operation," the officer added.
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