11-Year-Old Boy Rescued After 10-Hour Ordeal in Rock Crevice in Nayagarh

Nayagarh: In a dramatic rescue, an 11-year-old boy was pulled out alive after being trapped for nearly 10 hours inside a narrow rock crevice on a hill in Nayagarh district on Wednesday.

The minor, identified as Shiva Pradhan, was rescued by fire service personnel following an intensive operation in the Kanipada forest area near Chorakhol hill under Odagaon police limits.

According to officials, Shiva had accompanied his uncle, Ram Pradhan, to the hilltop early in the morning to collect honey. While trying to retrieve a honeycomb lodged deep inside a rock crevice, the boy crawled in headfirst but became stuck and was unable to come out.

Failing to rescue him, his uncle rushed back to the village and alerted locals as well as fire services. The incident site was located around 3 km from the village and approximately 250 feet above ground level, making the rescue operation particularly challenging.

Fire service teams from Odagaon, Nayagarh, and Bhubaneswar carried out a coordinated effort for nearly eight hours before successfully extricating the child.

Shiva was immediately shifted to the Odagaon Community Health Centre for treatment, where his condition was reported to be stable.

The incident drew a large crowd, with more than 300 people gathering near the hill and anxiously waiting for updates. Family members, including the boy’s mother, were seen in distress during the prolonged rescue.

In a tense moment during the operation, a python was spotted about 15 feet away from the crevice, though it did not pose any danger to the child.

Ram Pradhan, who earns his livelihood by collecting and selling forest honey, had taken his nephew along as part of his routine work when the incident occurred.