ROXANA HEGEMAN
Associated Press Writer

MULVANE, Kan. (AP) - A toddler fell more than 15 feet into a narrow well Thursday night and firefighters were digging a tunnel to rescue the boy, who was crying and appeared to be in good shape.

Firefighters could see 17-month old Jesse with a video camera lowered into the well, but he was out of the reach of rescue equipment, Sedgwick County Fire Marshal Greg Thompson said.

``I'd say his condition is very good. He slid down the hole, so I don't think there's going to be any real injuries,'' Thompson said.

About 50 emergency workers worked under emergency flood lights as Jesse's parents, whose names were not released, talked to their son.

About 100 neighbors joined television crews that were kept about a block from the scene in a recently built housing development in Mulvane, 20 miles south of Wichita.

Police were called to the boy's backyard shortly before 7 p.m. The boy was still trapped four hours later.

The well is 20 to 25 feet deep and only 8 to 10 inches wide. The boy fell at least 16 feet and was stuck with one arm over his head, authorities said.

Rescuers fed oxygen to Jesse through tubes lowered into the well to help the child breathe. Thompson said Jesse occasionally grabbed hold of a tube or tugged it.

Firefighters had dug a tunnel about 25 feet deep near the well and were tunneling toward it to reach the child. Rescue workers worked in 15-minute shifts, digging by hand to reach the side of the well, taking the dirt out in five-gallon buckets.

``They've tunneled in about 3 feet, they figure they have anywhere between 3 to 5 feet to go,'' Mulvane Mayor Jim Ford told KSNW-TV about three hours into the rescue effort.

Ford said the video showed the boy moving a little bit and crying.

``They were able to get a rope around his wrist, so he is somewhat secure,'' Ford said. ``And he did help with the rope so that's telling us it's doing pretty good.''

Emergency workers used lumber to shore up the well's sides to prevent rocks or dirt from falling on the child. Ford said he had talked to the child's mother.

``Needless to say, she's very distraught,'' he said.

Thompson said the diggers were going to work slowly, but hoped to reach him by midnight.

``We know what happened in Midland, Texas. It's a very similar situation.''

In October 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell into an abandoned well in Midland and became trapped 22 feet down in a hole 8 inches wide.

It took emergency crews 2 1/2 days to reach the little girl. They rescued her after digging a shaft parallel to the one that trapped her and then breaking through the wall of the well.