Rescuers in Morocco are continuing operations to save a five-year-old boy who has been trapped in a well for days.
The young boy, named by local media as Rayan, entered his fourth day stuck in the well today, February 5, after falling in while his father worked to repair it.
Rescuers were able to lower a camera into the well to determine that Rayan was alive and conscious with what appear to be some minor head injuries, though at 32 metres (104 feet) deep he has not been easy for responders to reach.
Advert
Workers have lowered an oxygen mask as well as food and water into the well to help sustain the five-year-old as they continue their operations, which have been made more difficult due to surrounding rocky and sandy soils preventing them from opening up the narrow shaft.
Bulldozers have been used to form a trench next to the well, after which rescuers will be able to dig horizontally to allow Rayan to escape. Authorities earlier confirmed they were 'almost there', BBC News reports, and they are now said to be just six feet from where the five-year-old is trapped, however the final few feet are reportedly the most difficult to overcome due to the risk of landslides
Both a medical team and helicopter are on site ready to treat Rayan and take him to hospital when he has been freed.
Discussing the efforts with BBC News, Mohamed Yassin El Quahabi, president of the Chefchaouen Association of Caving and Mountain Activities, explained: 'The problem of this rescue is that the hole diameter is very, very small, about 25cm (9.8 inches). At the depth of 28 metres it became smaller so we couldn't reach him.'
Another rescuer added: 'The closer we get, the hole gets narrow and hard to pass through – which makes it very hard to save the child through volunteers. That's why we had to come up with another technique – which is digging.'
One of the operation's leaders, Abdesalam Makoudi, said the team has been 'working non-stop for three days', adding, 'tiredness is kicking in, but the whole rescue team is hanging on.'
Rayan's parents have described themselves as 'devastated and very worried' about their young son, with his dad explaining Rayan fell into the well 'in that one moment [he] took [his] eyes off him'.
Rayan's mother said the 'whole family went out' to look for the missing five-year-old before realising he had fallen into the well, and told Moroccan media she was 'still keeping up hope that [they'll] get him out alive'.
The rescue mission has gained mass attention online, where social media users have been sending their thoughts with the hashtag '#SaveRayan'.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]