Rescue officials in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday said a two-year-old boy trapped in an abandoned borewell in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli district since Friday evening was dead, PTI reported. He had stopped communicating with rescuers early on Saturday morning.

Sujith Wilson’s body was sent for autopsy after a National Disaster Response Force team pulled him out of the borewell in Nadukkatupatti village, according to ANI.

“We have been told that the body is in a highly decomposed state...we have suspended the digging operation,” said Commissioner of Revenue Administration J Radhakrishnan.

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Radhakrishnan said rescue officials noticed foul smell emanating from the borewell around 10.30 pm on Monday. Following this, medical services, along with the state and national disaster relief forces, reviewed the situation.

The child was reported missing on Friday after his parents, Britto Arogiyaraj and Kalairani, could not find him anywhere. Efforts to save Wilson, who fell into the borewell while playing, was impeded by rocky terrain.

On Monday afternoon, officials had said the rescue would take another 12 hours. At the time, a new one-metre-wide tunnel being drilled was reportedly three metres from reaching the boy, who was stuck at a depth of almost 100 feet. The state government even sought the help of two farmers from Punjab who had been involved in the rescue efforts of children stuck in borewells.

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The state government’s rescue operations drew flak, with many alleging it had adopted a “trial and error” approach. Many claimed that the National Disaster Rescue Force was called in nine hours after the rescue operations began, NDTV reported.

Political leaders across party lines prayed for WIlson’s safe return as the rescue efforts dragged on. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he had asked Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to keep him updated about the situation.

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