- TAIF: Rescuers from the Civil Defense have been battling since Sunday night to rescue a woman who became trapped in a 50-meter-deep well near the mountainous town of Shenaif, northeast of Taif.
“A woman in her 30s fell into the 40 cm diameter artesian well on Sunday evening. The well is full of water and its constricted nature makes the rescue all the more difficult,” said Lt. Col. Khaled Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Taif Civil Defense.
The woman had not been rescued on Monday night when this report was filed.
When initial attempts to manually lift the woman out failed, the Civil Defense brought in advanced detection and rescue devices. Attempts to determine the exact location of the woman with the help of a thermal camera also failed. Digging the surrounding area with huge machines has also proved unhelpful.
Civil Defense official have been consulting well experts to find a way to rescue the woman. They are also trying the option of digging close to the well to widen its mouth, something that would allow rescuers to perhaps descend inside and supply the woman with oxygen.
Director of the Civil Defense in Taif Brig. Muhammad Al-Shehri is supervising the rescue operation; Director of the Makkah Civil Defense Maj. Gen. Adel Zamzami is also present at the location.
