Rescue team fights to save five year-old Moroccan boy trapped in well for nearly two days

Boy's plight sparked sparks outcry on social media for his speedy rescue

The parents of Rayan Aourram walk away after rescue workers retrieved his body from a deep well and placed it in an ambulance, in the village of Ighran in Morocco's Chefchaouen province. EPA

An ambulance drives away from the well where rescuers retrieved the body. The 5-year-old Moroccan boy who was trapped in a well for four days has died, authorities confirmed. EPA

The rescue effort began after Rayan fell 32 metres down a dry well on Tuesday. AFP

Rescue workers carry the body and place it in the ambulance. EPA

Rayan's body was wrapped in a yellow blanket after it was taken out through a tunnel dug specifically for the rescue. AFP

A member of the Moroccan emergency services in action during the rescue operation. AFP

Search crews first used five bulldozers to dig vertically to a depth of more than 31 metres. AFP

On Friday, rescuers started excavating a horizontal tunnel to reach Rayan. AFP

Experts in topographical engineering were called upon for help. AFP

A Moroccan emergency services climber surveys the site. AFP

People wait for word on the rescue. AFP

Rescuers had earlier been able to feed Rayan food and oxygen through an opening in the well, and they placed a camera on him to watch his progress. AFP

Hundreds of technical experts, workers, journalists, volunteers and well-wishers watched the rescue mission at the site and on live streams. AFP

Members of the civil defence use diggers and other equipment at the site. AFP

Crowds gather near the well as they anxiously wait for news on the fate of the child. AFP

As the well became deeper, it also narrowed to a diameter of a little more than 30 centimetres, rescue workers said. AFP

A woman waits for news at the site. AFP

The rescue operation captured attention in Morocco and around the world. AFP

Rescuers work against the clock to reach Rayan. AFP

Rescuers toiled through the night as concerns about Rayan's safety grow. AFP

Rescuers during the nerve-racking final stages of a marathon effort to rescue Rayan. AFP

Bystanders watch as the rescue attempt continues. AFP

The brave work of rescue workers goes on. AFP

Concerns about ground stability halted the rescue attempt at times. AP

Rayan's father said that he was touched by the outpouring of support from fellow Moroccans over his son's ordeal. AP

Moroccans anxiously awaited news on Thursday of a five-year-old boy, Rayan, who has been trapped in a well in Shafshawan city for more than 46 hours, with pleas mounting on social media for authorities to hasten his rescue.

The boy's parents found him hours after he fell into the abandoned well near their family home, officials said. The longer Rayan has been trapped, the more attention the case has gathered on social media.

The hashtag "Save Rayan" in Arabic and in English was tweeted more than 2,000 times from Morocco, neighbouring Algeria and other parts of the Arab world.

“We haven’t slept, we haven’t eaten,” the boy's mother told the local Anbae TV channel.

“We know everybody is supporting us.”

The well, which was 60 metres deep when it was first dug, has become more shallow over time and is now about 30m deep, an official from the rescue team said.

”As it becomes deeper, the well also gets narrower. We have dug through 22 metres and the coming hours are crucial. We believe that the width of the well where Rayan is, is 36 centimetres,” the official said.

”Several people have attempted to go down the well but failed,” he said.

A helicopter is on standby to transport Rayan to a nearby medical facility if required, the official said. An ambulance and a medical team are also on site.

Earth-moving machinery was seen moving piles of sand from around the well.

Local news outlet ChoufTV said King Mohamed VI had sent a representative to monitor the operation.

“There is hope that Rayan is alive,” the official from the rescue team said.

People offered prayers on social media for Rayan’s rescue and well-being.

“I am sincerely praying for him to stay strong and be saved soon,” Youssef Moussaif, a computer science student, wrote on Twitter. Social media users called for international experts to join the rescue mission.