Rayan, A 5-Year-Old Moroccan Boy, Passes Away After Being Rescued From A Deep Well.
Rayan, A 5-Year-Old Moroccan Boy, Passes Away After Being Rescued From A Deep Well.
Morocco’s IGHRAN (AP) — The royal palace in Morocco announced Saturday that a 5-year-old boy who had been trapped in a deep well for four days had died.
In a statement released by the palace, Moroccan King Mohammed VI expressed his condolences to the boy’s parents.
Rayan, the boy, was rescued late Saturday night after a lengthy operation that drew worldwide attention.
After emerging from a tunnel dug specifically for the rescue, an Associated Press reporter on the scene saw the boy wrapped in a yellow blanket.
Before the boy emerged, his parents, Khaled Oram and Wassima Khersheesh, were led to an ambulance. His plight had sparked international interest.
According to a palace statement, the king has been closely monitoring local authorities’ frantic rescue efforts, “instructing officials to use all means necessary to dig the boy out of the well and return him alive to his parents.” The king praised the rescuers for their unwavering efforts, as well as the community for rallying behind Rayan’s family.
Hundreds of villagers and others had gathered to witness the rescue mission.
As the rescue operation dragged on for four days, online messages of support and concern for the boy poured in from all over the world.
A rope was used to send oxygen and water down to the boy, as well as a camera to keep an eye on him. “It is not possible to determine the child’s condition at this time,” Abdelhadi Temrani, the head of the rescue committee, said by Saturday morning. “However, we pray to God that the child is still alive.”
On Tuesday evening, Rayan fell into a 32-meter (105-foot) well outside his home in the village of Ighran in Morocco’s mountainous northern Chefchaouen province.
Bulldozers were used for three days to dig a parallel ditch by search crews. They began excavating a horizontal tunnel to reach the trapped boy on Friday. Experts in topographical engineering have been enlisted, according to Morocco’s MAP news agency.
Temrani told local television station 2M on Saturday that rescuers only had two meters (yards) to dig to get to the hole where the boy was trapped.
“The diggers came across some hard rock along the way and had to be careful not to cause any landslides or cracks,” he said. “Getting rid of the rock took about five hours because the digging was slow and careful to avoid creating cracks in the hole from below, which could endanger the child’s life as well as the rescue workers’.”
Because of concerns that the soil surrounding the well could collapse on the boy, the work has been particularly difficult.
The poor, remote, and arid region of Morocco’s Rif Mountains is dotted with deep wells, many of which are used to irrigate the cannabis crop, which is the main source of income for many. Protective covers cover the majority of the wells.
It’s unclear what caused the boy to fall into the well.
Moroccans across the country took to social media to express their hopes for the boy’s survival, with the hashtag #SaveRayan gaining international attention.
They by was 5-Year-Old, Stayed in the well for 5 days and died on 5th February. 555. Rest In Peace little Angel.