Angul: A relentless rescue operation by the fire brigade on Monday afternoon allowed a three-year-old girl to escape from a deep borewell in Golasore under Kishorenagar block, about 60km from here.

The girl, who had slipped into the borewell in the morning and was rescued after five hours, has been admitted to the Angul district hospital and is out of danger.

The lift irrigation department had dug the borewell near the house of Srikant Sahu before abandoning it later when it could not trace water.

Sahu's daughter, Radha, fell into the 15ft deep well when she was playing nearby. Hearing her cries, the villagers informed the police and administrative officials. Angul superintendent of police Brijesh Rai and local officials rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operation.

"We immediately called for machines and fire officials. They started digging around the well and after four to five hours, she was rescued without harm. Local administrative officials, including doctors, were present at the spot, which is not accessible by mobile phone, during the rescue operation," said Athmalick sub-collector Subash Rai.

A panel of doctors is monitoring her condition, Rai said.

Angul collector Anil Kumar Samal, who coordinating the operations, has ordered the executive engineer of the lift irrigation department to conduct an enquiry into the matter and report by Tuesday.

The child's father, Srikant Sahu, thanked the administration and said: "We had lost hope, but the authorities really toiled and finally gave a new life to my daughter."