Baby Sajid laid to eternal rest

Two-year-old Sajid Hossain, who died after slipping into a 42-foot shaft, was laid to eternal rest on Friday at his family home in Koelhat village under Tanore upazila.

A pall of grief descended on the village this morning as a large number of mourners gathered for Sajid's namaj-e-janaja, followed by his burial at the local Nekkiri Graveyard. 

After a gruelling 32-hour rescue effort, Fire Service teams retrieved Sajid around 9:07 pm on Thursday and rushed him to the nearest hospital, briefly raising hopes among relatives and villagers. 

Those hopes were dashed shortly afterwards when Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Barnabas Hasdak declared the child dead, stating that he had been "brought dead to the hospital." 

The tragedy began around 1 pm on Wednesday, when Sajid accidentally fell into the deep, abandoned shaft while walking with his mother, Runa Khatun.

Multiple Fire Service teams immediately launched the rescue operation. They dug down 42 feet before finally locating the child on Thursday night. 

Earlier, a special camera had been lowered into the shaft but became stuck around the 35-foot level. Throughout the operation, rescuers supplied oxygen through the pipe and tried different methods to pinpoint the child's location, witnesses said. 

Rajshahi Fire Service Assistant Director Didarul Alam told BSS that the rescue was initially slowed because soil had collapsed into the pipe during early attempts by villagers.

Tanore Police Station officer-in-charge Shahinuzzaman said three Fire Service units, assisted by the Army, police, and the upazila administration, worked continuously in the hope of saving the child.

Despite the relentless efforts, the operation ended in heartbreak when Sajid was pronounced dead.