Deaf and mute boy, 10, stuck down 80ft well with snakes and scorpions for 4 days

Rescuers face a race against time to save a young deaf and mute child who has been stuck down a huge well for four days.

Little Rahul Sahu fell down 80ft waterhole on Friday while playing in the garden of his house in the central state of Chhattisgarh, India.

The boy has been stuck ever since as earth movers attempt to dig a tunnel to finally free him.

But the rescue mission has been far from straight forward as poor weather as well as snakes and scorpions unearthed by the machines have hampered efforts to save his life.

Footage shown on an iPad screen to concerned family members is said to show the exhausted boy covered in mud from the initial fall.

The rescue mission has been going on since Friday afternoon (Jam Press Vid/Newslions)

Around 150 workers have been deployed to rescue the lad.

Army soldiers and members of India's disaster response agency have also been sent to aid the efforts.

Janjgir district police chief Vijay Agrawal told AFP that the child is was "responding well" to rescuers.

"Since the boy cannot speak or listen, we have a bigger challenge," he said.

Rescue teams are continuing to work around the clock to save the boy (IBC24)

An oxygen pipe is feeding fresh air, but they know time is running out.

Family and friends continue to speak to the boy via a microphone in an attempt to keep his spirits high.

A Government spokesman added that their tunnelling had also been slowed down by hard stone and other factors - including venomous snakes and scorpions discovered.

Rescuers from the National Disaster Response Force have been digging a tunnel (IBC24)

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel said some food has been able to be passed down and the boy last night ate a banana.

“The rescue operation is till on. Pulling out the boy will take some more time as a stone was discovered while drilling the ground," Mr Baghel tweeted in Hindi.

"However, the voices of NDRF Jawans, resonating around the borewell for the last three days, continue to be Rahul’s hopes. At 5am today, he ate a banana."

Family and friends speaking to the boy via a microphone (Jam Press Vid/Newslions)

Uncovered wells are common in Indian farming villages.

But there have been a number of fatalities reported in recent years, including a number of children.

Three years ago, a two-year-old toddler was pulled out dead from a well after a four-day rescue effort in the northern state of Punjab.