Rescue workers in Morocco edge closer to boy trapped in well

Moroccan rescuers have worked through the night to rescue a five-year-old boy trapped underground in a well in northern Morocco.

The complex, slow and risky earth-moving operation has gripped residents of the north African kingdom and even sparked sympathy in neighbouring Algeria, a regional rival.

The child, publicly identified only by his first name, Rayan, fell into the well in the hill town of Chefchaouen on Tuesday.

The well is 32 metres (10ft) deep and narrows as it descends from a 45cm (18 inches) diameter at the top, which means rescuers cannot go down themselves to retrieve the child.

Rescue crews, using bulldozers and front-end loaders, have dug almost all the way down but the final 2 metres are the most difficult because of the risk of landslides.

Working non-stop through the darkness, under powerful floodlights , they are also digging a horizontal tunnel to reach the pocket where Rayan is, local authorities say.

There has been no information about the fate of the boy, but the more time that passes, the more fears arise over whether he will be recovered alive.

Overnight, crews manoeuvred a heavy pipe into position in the area.

 “We’re almost there,” said one of the operation’s leaders, Abdesalam Makoudi, adding: “tiredness is kicking in, but the whole rescue team is hanging on.”

The hilly region around Chefchaouen is bitterly cold in winter and although food has been lowered to Rayan, it was not clear whether he has eaten any. He has also been supplied with water and oxygen using a tube.

A helicopter was standing by to ferry Rayan to hospital as soon as he is freed.

 “I keep up hope that my child will get out of the well alive,” Rayan’s father told public television 2M on Friday evening. “I thank everyone involved and those supporting us in Morocco and elsewhere.”

The boy’s mother told Moroccan media that Rayan had been playing nearby when he disappeared on Tuesday afternoon.

 “The whole family went out to look for him then we realised that he’d fallen down the well,” she said.

Scores of townspeople and others have gathered to help and watch the rescue efforts. Nationwide, Moroccans have expressed their hopes for the boy’s survival, using the hashtag #SaveRayan, which has brought global attention to the rescue efforts.

“Rescuers are literally in the process of moving a mountain to save little Rayan. I hope that their efforts will not be in vain and that those who prayed for him will see their prayers answered,” one internet user wrote