2 days after well collapse in Chhattisgarh village, bodies of couple, their son recovered

Korba, Jul 30 (PTI) Rescuers on Wednesday retrieved the bodies of a couple and their 30-year-old son who died after being trapped under the debris of a newly dug well that collapsed in a village in Chhattisgarh's Korba district, officials said.

The trio was trapped after the well located adjacent to their home in Banwar village caved in two days ago, prompting authorities to launch a rescue operation.

The 26-hour-long rescue operation involving personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and district administration concluded at around 2 pm after the recovery of the bodies, they said.

The deceased, identified as Cheduram Srivas (65), his wife Kanchan Bai (53), and their son Govind (30), were trapped 25 feet deep inside the collapsed well, a police official said.

The incident took place on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday in the village under Katghora police station limits.

The Srivas family had dug a 38 feet deep well on a piece of land adjacent to their house two months back. On Tuesday morning, relatives found the trio missing and the newly dug well collapsed. They spotted footwears of the couple and their son near the well, strengthening their suspicion that the trio was trapped under the rubble.

Subsequently, a rescue operation involving SDRF personnel, police and district administration was launched and a Poclain machine (excavator) was deployed to retrieve soil from the collapsed structure, the official said.

However, due to heavy rainfall and the risk of further soil subsidence, the operations was temporarily suspended. The rescue work resumed on Wednesday morning, he said. PTI COR TKP RSY