Mumbai:
Standing on the edge of a gigantic crowd, Nilofer's hope fades as the sun sets in Mankhurd, Mumbai. Pregnant with her second child, she is virtually certain that her first has died.
On Sunday night, her three-year-old son, Ayub, was playing when he fell into an open manhole near their building. Through the night, rescue operations failed to locate the child. News that Niolfer's father couldn't bear. On Monday morning, he died of a heart attack. Nilofer's mother, in shock, has been hospitalised.
Nilofer's husband, Salam, works as a driver in Saudi Arabia. Relatives say they've been trying to get in touch with him.
Through Monday, those in charge of the search for Ayub warned that it would take a miracle to save the child. "We are inserting rods to fish him out. But judging by the flow of the water, the chances are bleak," said Vitthal Lokre, a local corporator.
Angry locals have held the civic body responsible because they kept the manhole open for repairs for months. They are demanding it be covered immediately before other children are hurt.