For nearly 20 long hours, the people of Koelhat village in Tanore upazila have been living in fear, worry and helplessness. 

Two-year-old Sajid, who slipped into an abandoned deep tube well pipe on Wednesday afternoon, is still missing underground, and rescue teams have yet to reach him.

By 9:30am on Thursday, firefighters said there was still no sign of movement inside the pipe. 

The long night that passed brought no relief. Sajid’s family and villagers stayed awake, their faces stiff with hope and anxiety.

The Fire Service said the little boy fell into an 8-inch-wide pipe, too narrow for anyone to enter. 

Rescuers dug a larger hole beside it, using three excavators to create a tunnel that could lead to the child. But even after hours of work, they have not been able to find him, said Didarul Alam, Assistant Director of the Rajshahi Fire Service.

“We are trying every possible method,” he told UNB on Thursday morning from the site, his voice carrying the weight of the tense rescue effort.

A special camera was lowered into the pipe to look for Sajid, but it got stuck around 40 feet deep. It showed no trace of the child. 

Fire Service officials believe he may be somewhere around that depth, and they are continuously supplying oxygen into the pipe in an effort to keep him alive.

Witnesses had earlier reported hearing faint sounds from inside the pipe soon after the accident. 

But by nightfall, the cries fell silent, leaving rescuers and villagers deeply worried about whether the child is still alive.

The tragedy began around 1pm on Wednesday, when Sajid was walking behind his mother on their way home. 

The entrance of the abandoned well was covered with straw. In a moment that now haunts his mother, the child suddenly called out, “Ma, Ma.”

When she turned, she watched him fall through the hidden hole.

“He slipped further down before anyone could reach him,” said his mother, Runa Khatun, her voice breaking as she recalled the moment.

Locals immediately called the Fire Service, and rescue operations began at 1:45pm. 

But by the time firefighters arrived at 2:30pm, the soil around the well had already been disturbed by villagers desperately trying to save the boy.

Some faint responses from Sajid were heard until 4pm, Didarul Alam said. But after that, the child’s voice was drowned out by noise and movement at the rescue site. 

Still, oxygen continues to be pushed into the pipe, as teams refuse to give up hope.