Talk:BEP Shaft Rescue Robot (2022/2023, Q3)

Research Section on Topic

Past Accidents

Thai baby who fell down well rescued https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-64553751

• 13m deep shaft and 30cm wide gap
• An adjacent tunnel had to be dug up in order to save the boy
• Oxygen was supplied to the tunnel

Boy rescued after 100 hours trapped underground in a well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwqsa9VkTQg

• 18m deep well
• An adjacent tunnel had to be dug up in order to save the boy
• Oxygen was supplied to the tunnel

Madhya Pradesh: Indian boy trapped in a well https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-63928144

• 17m deep well
• Trapped for 3 days. Again the solution was to dig a parallel hole
• The rocky layer seemed to pose complications on digging the parallel tunnel

Moroccan boy, Rayan, 5, trapped in 105-feet-deep well, found dead after four-day rescue effort https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/02/05/moroccan-boy-rescue-fourth-day-effort-free-5-year-old-well/6674664001/

• 105 feet deep well
• The solution was to dig a parallel hole to the well
• They sent down water as well as cameras to monitor the condition of the boy
• It seemed challenging to determine the condition of the boy therefore they kept digging.

Spain toddler stuck in deep borehole https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46862385

• In this case the hole is 100m deep and just 25cm wide.
• This posed the problem that no one could actually fit through the hole, only a camera to locate the boy
• Again the best solution they used was to dig a parallel hole, which takes very long

Killer borewells: Recent cases of children falling into deadly holes https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/killer-borewells-recent-cases-of-children-falling-into-deadly-holes/articleshow/92232243.cms

• Cases of children falling into borewell holes dating back to 2006 up to 2022
• Rescue operations could take 9 up to 109 hours, and even then they were not always successful
• Children were aged 1.5 up to 9 years old
• Hole depths ranged from 55 to 440 ft (16.764 to 134.112 m)
• Rescue methods included digging a pit parallel to where the child was trapped using large excavators (up to 40 in one instance).
• Saving these children could often require a team consisting of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team army, fire brigade, police and health officials.
• Geological obstacles included huge rocks or slab which would have to be broken up in order to dig a pit down to where the child was
• Oxygen would be pumped to the holes during rescue missions, but no food could be sent down

Boy, 10, declared dead after falling into 115-feet deep construction site hole in Vietnam https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boy-who-fell-into-115-feet-deep-construction-site-hole-in-vietnam-declared-dead/

• After 100 soldiers spent almost 100 hours a 10 year old boy could not be saved after being trapped for 5 days
• The hole was 10 inches (25.4 cm) wide and 115 ft (35.052 m) deep
• Rescuers attempted to use a 62-foot metal pipe to rescue the boy while oxygen was being pumped into the hole

'Boy falls into hole made for building in Vadodara https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/boy-falls-into-hole-made-for-bldg-rescued/articleshow/96657142.cms/

• 20ft (6m) deep hole
• Rescuers had to dig a parallel hole in order to save the boy.
• Rescue operation was less complicated compared to other situations as the hole was less deep.

Infant Girl Rescued from DANGEROUS Well Shaft in Thailand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwNHVP34C8U&ab_channel=OnDemandNews

• When digging holes, rescue workers have to be very careful to avoid letting the shaft collapse or letting debris fall in

Rescue 911: Small Boy vs. Deep Hole https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THnTA6Of0qM&ab_channel=brokkenp

• The more people get inovlved and look into the hole where the child is, the more dust gets kicked in accidentally and covers the child
• Water can rise at the bottom and make it harder to dig
• It can be very hard to accurately dig the horizontal hole to the child
  • If the child's location is measured incorrectly from the ground level, the hole could miss them

Problems With Current Rescue Methods

Explained: How borewell rescues are attempted, why they often fail https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-how-borewell-rescues-are-attempted-why-they-often-fail-6094949/#:~:text=Most%20commonly%2C%20a%20parallel%20hole,rescue%20workers%20and%20heavy%20machinery.

• On average, 70% of rescue operations are unsuccessful
• Borewells are wells that can be 100-1500 feet deep and fit pipes of 6-12 inches in diameter in order to extract water to irrigate land
• Key factors that affect the rescue mission's chance of success include:
  • Incident type
  • Location
  • Depth and diameter of borehole
  • Availability of equipment for digging, oxygen, doctors, ambulances and lights
  • Type of soil
• Problems with digging a parallel hole and diging a horizontal hole to the hole where the child is:
  • Needs large amounts of resources (rescue workers, machines)
  • Too time-consuming
  • Hard rocks can get in the way of the digging and cause delays

Similarities between researched cases

• Location :
  • Majority of cases occur in southern Asia (India, Thailand, ....)
• Type of hole:
  • Borehole used for construction or to reach a well.
• Method of rescue:
  • Supplying oxygen through a long pipe, digging a parallel hole.
  • Supplying food/Water is not possible in most cases. Either the hold is too small or the victim is wounded/unconscious.
• Victim:
  • A child between 2-12 years old.