According to Commissioner of Revenue Administration, J. Radhakrishnan a pit has been dug up to 40 feet so far, near the borewell in Nadukattupatti, where an operation is underway to rescue two-year-old Sujith Wilson.
The operation to rescue Wilson, who fell into a borewell in Nadukattupatti of Tiruchirappalli district on October 25, will reach its final stage within four to five hours.
According to Radhakrishnan, the rig was damaged due to the presence of rocks, and another engine was brought from Ramanathapuram for drilling, at 12:00 am last night.
"Soon after the engine was made operational, it drilled up to 10 feet in four hours. The drilling process is still underway," said Radhakrishnan.
Tamil Nadu health minister C. Vijayabaskar stated that due to hard rocks in the area, digging has been difficult.
"There are many hard rocks, due to which the machine is under huge strain. Two rigs were brought earlier at the site but they could not dig the pit as the rocks were too hard. Oxygen is also being pumped inside the pit. The rescue operation is in its final stage," said Vijayabaskar.
"Earlier, when the pit was a bit small, there was a risk that hard rocks could fall inside it. But now that pit has been dug up to 40 feet, the rocks will not fall inside," he added.
Sujith fell into the borewell while he was playing near his house at 5:30 pm on Friday. Later, he slipped further down and is now stuck at 100 feet in the borewell.
More than six crews from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed to rescue Sujith.
( With inputs from ANI )