Army efforts on to rescue 5-year-old

Army rescuers digging a tunnel to reach a five-year-old boy trapped for more than 40 hours in a borewell are a few feet away from him.

But concern is mounting in Kurukshetra, where the boy, Prince, slipped into the well on Saturday while playing near it.

He was found to be stable on CCTV images. But he did appear worried once in a while going through an ordeal perhaps, which will be the most difficult of his life.

In the morning, he was given tea and biscuits and oxygen was pumped into the borewell.

A fire brigade team from Mumbai is heading to join the rescue effort.

"My daughter Payal came to me. Being a toddler, all she could say was Baba has fallen in the nallah. I rushed to the site after I heard this. I checked the nallah but Prince wasn't there.

"However, the children insisted that he had fallen there. So, I called out for him and he replied. Now I was convinced he was there. I couldn't do anything to rescue him but fellow villagers did try and help," said Prince's mother.

Emotional rescue

Since 3 pm (IST) Saturday, servicemen from the 66 Engineers regiment of Ambala Cantonment have worked tirelessly on the rescue tunnel.

Rain hampered work briefly, but rescuers are emotionally involved in the effort. Two crane operators have been working without a break for 15 hours.

State Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, many villagers and well wishers have arrived in Kurukshetra.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also prayed for the speedy rescue and good health of the young boy.

Residents are holding a round-the-clock prayer vigil for the safe rescue of Prince.

Prayers are being held for Prince in Allahabad at a school for visually impaired students.