5-yr-old Nirob declared dead

Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) declared dead the five-year-old boy following his rescue from the Buriganga River in the old part of Dhaka this evening.

Nirob

Firemen rescued Nirob around 8:25pm from Senakalyan Ghat at Shyampur more than four hours after he fell into a sewerage line over half kilometre away from the spot.

The boy was rushed to the DMCH where doctors pronounced him dead around 9:00pm after necessary medical checkups.

The boy fell down the drain around 4:00pm while playing with other kids near Jagarani Club in Shyampur, Kazi Wazed Ali, officer-in-charge of Kadamtali Police Station, told The Daily Star.

Local volunteers also joined the operation with different strategies to make the efforts a success.

The rescue operation faced difficulties due to heavy current of water in the sewerage line, Mozammel Haque, deputy director (Dhaka) of Fire Service and Civil Defence, told the media on the spot.

He said they conducted the rescue operation by removing nonconcrete slabs on the sewerage line and advanced towards the river with which the drain has been linked.

The relatives and family members of the boy were wailing.

On information, several fire service and civil defiance units and teams of divers rushed to the spot for the rescue operation, duty officer inspector Bhajan Sarker of Fire Service and Civil Defiance said.

People gather on the bank of Buriganga River in Dhaka when firemen rescue the 5-year-old boy there. Doctors declare him dead following his rescue. Photo: Palash Khan

Local lawmaker Abu Hossain Babla visited the spot and warned of stern action against those responsible for the incident.

“It is an inhuman and unexpected incident. The people responsible for the situation will not be spared. They will be punished appropriately,” he warned.

The tragic incident comes nearly one year after four-year-old boy Jihad fell into a deep well shaft while playing with other children near his house in Shahjahanpur of Dhaka.

Twenty-three hours into his fall, the body of boy was recovered from a deep well shaft despite the authorities' repeated claims that there was none inside.

Three volunteers made the recovery over 12 hours into announcement by the authorities that no human being was found in the shaft.

Speaking to journalists, Rahul, one of the three volunteers, said the boy was found around 245-foot deep in the well shaft.