Rescue workers in northern Morocco are frantically digging to reach a 5-year-old boy trapped down a 105-feet deep well, officials said Thursday.
Rescuers said Thursday they have managed to get down oxygen and water to him, and got a response from him. The boy Rayan has been stuck in the well, located in the northern village of Ighran in Morocco’s Chefchaouen province, since Tuesday evening.
The boy’s father, Khalid Agoram, told newsmen that he has been looking for his son for hours on Tuesday before discovering that he had fallen into the well.
Thousands of Moroccans took to social media to express their sympathy with the boy and his family. The hashtag #SaveRayan has been trending for hours in Morocco and Twitter posts have brought global attention to the rescue efforts.
“I pray and beg God that he comes out of that well alive and safe,” his mother Wassima Kharchich. “Please God, ease my pain and his, in that hole of dust.”
Rescuers used a rope to provide an oxygen tube and water to the boy but were unable to reach the hole where he is trapped. They also sent down a CCTV camera to monitor him.
So far, at least five bulldozers have been used to dig a hole parallel to the well in an attempt to reach the boy, identified as Rayan. Local officials said rescuers have so far dug through 30 metres.
“I managed to communicate with the child and asked if he could hear me. There was a response. I waited for a minute and saw that he began using the oxygen,” Red Crescent volunteer Imad Fahmy said.
Medical staff are on site to attend to the boy, with a helicopter on standby to transport him to the nearest hospital.
Government spokesperson Mustapha Baytas said Thursday that the government is closely monitoring the situation, studying different ways to help save the child.