Over 80 Hours On: Methane Gas, Chemical Sludge Hinder Rescue of Visually Impaired 10-Year-Old Girl From Drain in Ahmedabad’s Pirana

Ahmedabad: A desperate search operation for a 10-year-old visually impaired girl who fell into an open 35-to-40-foot-deep drainage line near Pirana Dumping Yard has entered its fifth day, exceeding 80 hours with no trace of the child.

Toxic methane gas, a continuous torrent of chemical-laden industrial trade effluent, and heavy subterranean sludge have crippled rescue efforts by the Ahmedabad Fire Department and civic engineering teams along the Vishala-Narol road stretch.

The incident, which occurred on Saturday, has mobilized round-the-clock emergency operations, yet extreme hazard conditions inside the main trunk line have severely restricted rescuers from descending deep into the network.

Borewell Cameras and Sewer CCTV Inspections Yield No Clues

In an attempt to pinpoint the girl's location within the cavernous drainage system, fire officials lowered specialized high-resolution borewell inspection cameras—equipment typically deployed during deep well rescue operations—into the manholes. However, zero visibility caused by thick mud and churned-up debris rendered the footage inconclusive.

Key technical and operational measures executed so far:

• Borewell Camera Probes: Lowered into the 35-to-40-foot deep drainage network; provided no visual confirmation due to heavy sediment.
• Network-Wide CCTV Sweep: Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) engineering officials inserted CCTV cameras into every adjacent manhole across the sector with negative results.
• Desludging Operations: Heavy machinery is currently pumping out submerged mud to clear a direct pathway for personnel.
• Sabarmati River & STP Patrols: Fire department personnel deployed rescue boats and conducted shoreline foot patrols near the Sabarmati River and the Pirana Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).

Chemical Water Hazards and Illegal Industrial Discharge Concerns

Civic engineering authorities highlighted that toxic chemical effluent mixed into the municipal sewage stream has posed severe health and safety risks to search crews. Officials noted that the main trunk line receives water passing through from Naroda, as well as collective drainage flows originating from the city's North, South, and East zones.

Engineering officers suspect the presence of toxic chemicals stems from either unauthorized connections feeding industrial waste into the municipal sewer line or illegal night-dumping by chemical tankers upstream.

With municipal engineers ruling out high survival probability inside the high-velocity main trunk line, search sweeps remain focused on the Pirana STP inlet screens and downstream Sabarmati River banks. Search and desludging operations are continuing as crews work to navigate the hazards.

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