Toddler rescued after 27 hours in deep well

updated 1:32 p.m. ET March 26, 2008

NEW DELHI, India - A 2-year-old girl who fell into a 45-foot well was rescued late Wednesday after 27 hours, officials said.

Rescuers spent much of Wednesday trying to pull the girl, identified only as Vandana, from the narrow well in a village near Agra, the site of the famed Taj Mahal, said Mukesh Meshram, the top official in the district south of New Delhi.

At one point, they even played music into the hole to soothe the child, who fell into the well on Tuesday night.

Rescuers used heavy earth-moving equipment to help get the child out.

In video footage broadcast on Indian television, hundreds of people who gathered near the scene could be seen surging forward as a man flanked by soldiers carried Vandana from the hole to a waiting ambulance.

“The girl looked dazed and started crying,” Meshram said. “She was immediately handed over to paramedics and doctors.”

While Meshram could not provide details of the baby’s condition, the CNN-IBN television station reported that she was in a good shape but was being held overnight for observation at a nearby hospital.

The footage recalled the ordeal of Jessica McClure, the 18-month-old girl who fell into a backyard well 20 years ago in Midland, Texas. Her rescue from the 22-foot hole took 2½ days and captivated television viewers around the world.

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