Officials are monitoring Rayan with a CCTV camera as he remains trapped. Photo / Twitter/_ElieMerheb
Officials are monitoring Rayan with a CCTV camera as he remains trapped. Photo / Twitter/_ElieMerheb
Moroccans waited anxiously on Friday as authorities said a dramatic operation to rescue a young boy trapped in a deep well for more than days was nearing its end.
The 5-year-old, named Rayan, fell down the narrow 32m deep well on Wednesday in his home village near Bab Berred inthe rural Northern Province of Chefchaouen, local media said.
"The child's rescue is approaching," government spokesman Mustapha Baitas said Friday. "Our hearts are with the family, and we are praying that he will back with them as soon as possible."
The shaft was too narrow for rescuers to reach the bottom, so heavy diggers were dispatched to dig a hole alongside it.
Relief operations intensified as darkness fell for a third night with the boy deep down in the well, with diggers clawing out dirt under floodlights.
Rayan's father told Le360 news website he had been repairing the well when the boy fell into it.
Lead rescuer Abdelhabi Temrani told Al Oula television the diameter of the well was less than 45cm.
Moroccans have launched a distress call for the rescue of 5-year-old Rayan who fell into a deep and narrow well at a depth of 35 meters in Chefchaouen, under the hashtag #SaveRayan.
Several attempts to rescue him failed because the well is so tight.
five year old rayan from morocco fell into a 33-meter depth well and been stuck there for more than 40 hours. rescue teams still have a few meters to dig. they managed to deliver him food & oxygen and set a cam to track him. pls keep him in ur dua’s #SaveRayanpic.twitter.com/iIyKgCnHFr
the next three hours are very important, it’s the hardest time of the process because the risk of landslide will be higher after every hour, and there has already been a slight collapse. one of the experts on the scene said: “it really needs a miracle.”#أنقذوا_ريان#SaveRayan 💔 pic.twitter.com/6tBUbWG8Xs
Baitas said the nature of the soil meant it was too dangerous to try to widen the hole, meaning major excavations around it were the only solution.
People have been in a vigil waiting for the boy to be rescued. Photo / Facebook
The drama has sparked an outpouring of sympathy online; the Arabic hashtag #SaveRayan has gone viral across North Africa, including in neighbouring Algeria.
Moroccan footballer and PSG star Achraf Hakimi mentioned the rescue efforts on social media, alongside emojis of a broken heart and hands together in prayer.
Officials are monitoring Rayan with a CCTV camera as he remains trapped. Photo / Twitter/_ElieMerheb
The boy's fate has also attracted crowds of people to the site of the operation, putting pressure on rescuers operating in "difficult conditions", Baitas said.
"We call on citizens to let the rescuers do their job and save this child," he said.
Authorities have also prepared a helicopter to take the child to hospital once he is extracted, national news channel 2M said.
