J’khand well cave-in: Six bodies recovered, rescue operation over

RANCHI: The toll in the cave-in of a well in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district rose to six as four more bodies were recovered from there on Friday, police said.

Two bodies were recovered till this morning from the well, a portion of which caved in at Piska village a day before, Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police Kishor Kaushal said.

“The 15-hour-long rescue operation carried out by a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) came to an end on Friday noon,” Ranchi SP (Rural) HB Jama said.

Two persons were rescued from the well during the operation, Kaushal said.

“Altogether, six bodies were recovered from the well and sent for post-mortem examinations,” he said.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon after an ox fell into the well in the village, around 70 km from the state capital Ranchi.

In an attempt to rescue the animal, nine people went inside the well, and then a portion of which caved in, Jama said.

“The carcass of the animal was also recovered. The well was constructed with boulders. We faced difficulties to remove the heavy materials,” an NDRF official said.

Jharkhand Chief Minister had on Thursday night claimed that five people died in the cave-in of the well but NDRF officials could not confirm the toll as the rescue operation was underway at that time.

“My heart is pained by the sad news of the death of five people in a well in Piska village May God grant peace to the departed souls, and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this difficult hour of grief,” Soren posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.