Five-year-old Moroccan child trapped in deep well, efforts to rescue him underway

Moroccans held their breath as emergency services worked Thursday to rescue a five-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for two days.

The boy, named as Rayan, had fallen down the narrow 32 meter well in his village near Bab Berred, in the northern tourist province of Chefchaouen, on Tuesday evening, local media said.

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Five bulldozers have been digging a hole alongside the shaft, so far reaching a depth of 19 meters, the MAP news agency cited authorities as saying.

Rescuers have struggled for 24 hours to access the boy, as “the diameter of the well is less than 45 centimeters,” lead rescuer Abdelhabi Temrani revealed to Al Aoula Television.

The boy’s father told news website Le360 that he had been repairing the well when he fell into it.

MAP said the rescuers had been able to send oxygen and water to the boy via pipes.

Rayan’s fate sparked an outpouring of sympathy online, with the Arabic hashtag #SaveRayan going viral across the Maghreb region. “The heart of every Moroccan is with this angel,” one person wrote on Twitter.

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