Rescuers Reach Five-Year-Old Boy Trapped 100ft Down Well

Rescue workers in Morocco have managed to reach a five-year-old boy who has been stuck in a well following four days of operations.

Responders worked for hours on end to try to reach the young boy, who has been identified by the name Rayan, after he fell 32 metres (104ft) down the well while his father was working to fix it earlier this week in the Chefchaouen province.

Afraid of causing landslides, those at the scene were forced to dig a trench alongside the well, which is 100 metres deep, before digging an access tunnel towards the shaft where Rayan was located.

After the five-year-old entered his fourth day in the well today, February 5, EHA News reported that rescuers had finally reached the place were Rayan was stuck.

A paramedic is said to be prepared to pull him out of the tunnel, while medical staff who are specialists in resuscitation from the Ministry of Health have been established at the site to treat the young boy, MailOnline reports.

Rayan was found to be in the well after he was heard crying by his family members, who were searching for him after he fell into the well on Tuesday, February 1. His mother was quick to call the authorities after realising what had happened, and as they worked to reach Rayan, rescuers lowered a camera into the well to check his condition, as well as an oxygen mask, food and water.

According to BBC News, Rayan seemed to have suffered some minor head injuries and it was unclear whether he had been able to use the supplies sent down to him.

State media MAP explained that reaching Rayan comes after machines dug vertically overnight to a depth of more than 90 feet, after which rescuers could start to dig horizontally towards the trapped child, CNN reports.

A member of the rescue team explained that workers were also forced to stop from time to time to 'determine the necessary interventions to avoid the ground collapsing'.

A medical helicopter from the Royal Gendarmerie is on the scene ready to take Rayan to hospital when he is brought to the surface.

News of Rayan's rescue has received widespread attention, with social media users sharing their messages of support and concern and many sharing his story with the hashtag 'Save Rayan'.

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Topics: no-article-matching, World News

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.