Boy nursing injuries from falling into well

An improperly covered well at Stage One, Jackson, St Michael is believed to be at the bottom of a 25-foot fall that left a ten-year-old boy nursing injuries to his neck, leg and ankle.

Residents revealed that at around 5:30 on Thursday evening, the young boy was playing near his home in the vicinity of some apartment buildings, when someone alerted neighbours that something had gone wrong.

Within minutes, dozens of persons, including the young boy’s mother converged on the scene, before scores of officers from the Arch Hall and Bridgetown Fire Stations as well as a handful of police arrived.

Sub-officer Henderson Nicholls, an officer from the Bridgetown Fire Station revealed that after assessing the situation, a decision was made to allow officer Rene Beckles to carry out the rescue.

This, Nicholls explained, was because of Beckles’ dual training in rescue operations and medical response. Using an Arizona Tripod and a 3:1 hauling system, Beckles was lowered into the 25-foot hole where he applied a collar on the child’s neck, and his broken femur, before removing him from the well.

“It’s a residential well next to the occupier of the house, but it wasn’t in use,” Nicholls told reporters on the scene.

“The casing wasn’t the best. It had deteriorated over time and the pressure of the child when he was running caused it to collapse and fall in,”  the sub-officer added.

The boy, who was fully conscious and responsive during the ordeal was immediately taken to hospital accompanied by his mother.

Half of the well’s covering fell inside, forcing officers to place wooden sheets at the opening to avoid further incident.

“We just put a little protection there for the time being, but the owners would have to address this. Even those wells over there are also collapsing, so this is an issue,” officer Nicholls added.
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)