Moroccan rescue workers have been trying to reach a 5-year-old boy who is trapped in a well in the north of the African country for three days, state media MAP reported on Friday (4).
The child, whose name is Rayan, is trapped in a well that reaches more than 30 meters deep in the province of Chefchaouen, located in the north of Morocco.
Backhoe machines dug vertically to a depth of more than 27 meters overnight, state media reported.
As the machines work, part of the rescue team plans to start digging horizontally to get to the boy.
Live broadcasts from state TV Al-Aoula revealed that the diggers still needed to travel 2.5 meters vertically and just under 3 meters horizontally to reach Rayan.
The child fell into the well on Tuesday afternoon and was discovered after being heard crying, his mother said in an interview with state TV Al-Aoula two days later.
She said he was playing in a nearby area before disappearing for a brief period. After hearing him cry, her mother reports that she quickly called the authorities for ransom.
According to Rayan’s father, authorities sent food and water down the well. He reported that he saw his son drinking some water.
“He was moving around and he drank some water. I believe he will be fine, God help him,” he said.
According to the local press, the child received food and water from the rescue team through a rope this Thursday (3).
Moroccan authorities are using at least five backhoe loaders in the difficult rescue operation. According to Al-Aoula TV, the diameter of the well is just over 45 centimeters wide.
The Arabic hashtag #SaveRayan has gone viral in North Africa as the rescue mission continues uninterrupted.
A member of the rescue team told MAP that while excavation work is underway, the rescue operation has reached a “complex stage” and machines have stopped from time to time while emergency workers “analyze the necessary interventions to prevent the collapse of the ground.”
A Royal Gendarmerie medical helicopter and a specialized medical team from the country’s Ministry of Health are on standby when the child is evacuated, the MAP said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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