The desperate attempt to rescue a 5-year-old boy who fell into a well two days ago

Efforts to rescue a child who fell into a well have kept Morocco on edge since last Tuesday.

The minor, who the local media identified as Rayan, 5, was playing near the well in the city of Tamrout, in the north of the country, when it fell to about 32 meters deep in a narrow opening.

From that moment on, a rescue operation was initiated by the Civil Protection Directorate.

Although Rayan suffered a significant fall, images from a camera lowered into the well showed that the boy is still alive and conscious, with some minor head injuries.

Local media reported that the provincial authorities are supervising the rescue attempts and that dozens of police, auxiliary forces, and members of the Royal Gendarmerie and civil protection are participating in the operation.

a complicated operation

To guarantee the survival of the minor, the rescue teams have lowered an oxygen mask, food and water.

A medical team is also on site, ready to treat the boy.

Mohamed Yassin al Quahabi, president of the Chefchaouen Association of Speleology and Mountain Activities, has been helping with the rescue.

He told the BBC that the narrowness of the well has made it difficult to bring the boy to the surface. Several attempts by local volunteers to reach the minor have failed, he explained.

“The problem with this rescue is that the diameter of the well is very, very small, about 25 cm,” al-Quahabi said. “At a depth of 28 meters it gets smaller, so we couldn’t reach it.”

Five bulldozers have been seen working on the site, making a parallel opening in the ground to try to reach the child. After several hours of work, they reached a depth of 19 meters.

Al Quahabi told the BBC that this is now the only way rescuers will be able to reach Rayan.

But to the authorities they are worried that some sudden movement in the well may accidentally hurt the child 5 years.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcPj4eEnhyM

Efforts to rescue a child who fell into a well have kept Morocco on edge since last Tuesday.

The minor, who the local media identified as Rayan, 5, was playing near the well in the city of Tamrout, in the north of the country, when it fell to about 32 meters deep in a narrow opening.

From that moment on, a rescue operation was initiated by the Civil Protection Directorate.

Although Rayan suffered a significant fall, images from a camera lowered into the well showed that the boy is still alive and conscious, with some minor head injuries.

Local media reported that the provincial authorities are supervising the rescue attempts and that dozens of police, auxiliary forces, and members of the Royal Gendarmerie and civil protection are participating in the operation.

a complicated operation

To guarantee the survival of the minor, the rescue teams have lowered an oxygen mask, food and water.

A medical team is also on site, ready to treat the boy.

Mohamed Yassin al Quahabi, president of the Chefchaouen Association of Speleology and Mountain Activities, has been helping with the rescue.

He told the BBC that the narrowness of the well has made it difficult to bring the boy to the surface. Several attempts by local volunteers to reach the minor have failed, he explained.

“The problem with this rescue is that the diameter of the well is very, very small, about 25 cm,” al-Quahabi said. “At a depth of 28 meters it gets smaller, so we couldn’t reach it.”

Five bulldozers have been seen working on the site, making a parallel opening in the ground to try to reach the child. After several hours of work, they reached a depth of 19 meters.

Al Quahabi told the BBC that this is now the only way rescuers will be able to reach Rayan.

But to the authorities they are worried that some sudden movement in the well may accidentally hurt the child 5 years.

Now you can receive notifications from BBC World. Download the new version of our app and activate it so you don’t miss out on our best content.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcPj4eEnhyM

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