One killed in a well

One killed in a well

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: One person was killed while three
others slightly injured when they were cleaning a water well in
the village of Pageraji, Banyumas regency, on Sunday.

Eyewitness Darminto, 45, who is also the owner of the well,
told police that Zaenuddin, 35, the deceased, had agreed to clean
the well for him, and asked three other people, Suparno, 30,
Mistahudin, 25 and Qoridin, 20, to help him.

"After the water was pumped out, Zaenuddin voluntarily entered
the 15-meter well to dredge the mud. However, he failed to
reappear after 10 minutes. The three other men then entered the
well to find out what was happening. They, too, did not
reappear," Darminto said.

The neighbors managed to lift the four out. They found
Zaenuddin dead and the three "sinking" in the three-meter-deep
mud.

Locals said that many water wells were drying up. Cleaning the
wells was a normal routine undertaken by the residents to get
more water from the wells, they said (45/sur)