On Saturday, the fourth day of fighting to rescue a Moroccan five-year old boy from a water well began. His desperate father and many villagers watched anxiously as he struggled for his freedom.
Little Rayan was swept into a 32-metre shaft (105ft) at his northern home in Ighran, in the province of Chefchaouen on Tuesday night. It triggered a rescue effort that captured the nation.
According to Morocco’s official MAP news agency, the first search crew used five bulldozers vertically to reach depths of over 31 meters.
On Friday they began excavating the horizontal tunnel that would reach the boy. Experts in topographical engineering were called for their assistance.
Due to fears that the ground near the well might collapse, work was temporarily stopped. But it was resumed later.
The rescue team used a rope and water to bring oxygen to the boy. However, they could not reach the narrow hole that he was trapped in due to its small diameter.
His mother, Wassima Kharchich, told 2M that she prayed and begged God for her son’s safe and healthy return to the well. Please God, relieve my pain and those of him in that hole full of dust.
The boy’s father claimed he was working on the well at the time the boy fell in it. He was seen nervously looking on as the rescue team attempted to save him late Friday night.
Once the boy is freed, medical staff including specialists in resuscitation are available to assist him. A helicopter will transport him to the closest hospital.
Previous statements by the Moroccan government stated that all possible efforts were being made to save the boy.
Many townspeople and other people came together to assist and monitor the rescue operations. Moroccans across the country took to social media using #SaveRayan to share their hope for his survival. This hashtag has attracted global attention to rescue efforts.
After a chaotic rescue operation, camera footage showed the boy at the bottom with a rope. Rescuers tried to save him but were unable to reach the rope.
Five-year-old boy was found trapped below a shaft at the bottom in Morocco by rescuers after falling 100ft on Tuesday. The boy was captured on camera by rescuers in an urgent rescue effort. They used a rope to carry water and oxygen to the bottom of his shaft.
He was said to be repairing the well, when his son fell into the water. His father was photographed nervously watching Friday’s rescue mission.
Rayan, five years old, fell into the well at 100 feet (32 m) depth on Tuesday night in his village of Ighran in rural Chefchaouen. (Camera footage shows that Rayan was using a rope to transport supplies).
It was reported that the rescue mission had entered its final stage in the wee hours of Saturday morning
Moroccan firefighters and authorities work together to save Rayan, a five-year old boy, from a well in the northern Moroccan province of Chefchaoue. Rayan is stuck in the well for more than two days. The boy was freed by diggers who worked all night to rescue him.
According to officials, the mission was close to completion overnight. Spokespeople at 3am GMT reported that only 20ft was still to be excavated to reach the boy. Images from the overnight scene showed several diggers digging into the soil from various directions in an attempt to reach the boy. A small group of people was seen gathered around the edges of the growing pit.
Moroccan officials and firefighters rescue Rayan the five-year-old boy who has been trapped for two days in a deep hole near Bab Berred. He is located in Morocco’s northern rural province of Chefchaouen.
Pictured: Moroccan authorities and firefighters work to get five-year-old child Rayan out of a well into which he fell on Tuesday, in the region of Chefchaouen near the city of Bab Berred
The search for Rayan reached its critical point on Friday night, and rescuers began to prepare a section of the tunnel that would allow Rayan to get in.
Rayan is being rescued by civil defence workers and local authorities as Rayan’s rescue attempt enters its third day on Friday. Residents observe.
Moroccan rescue service climbers help Rayan, a five-year old boy who fell into a well shaft on February 1.
The emergency personnel are seen preparing a tunnel to allow the boy to be accessed horizontally.
On Friday, hundreds of villagers gathered as they anxiously waited for the rescue mission to unfold.
All of North Africa has been captivated by the rescue effort. (Pictured, Nervous villagers observe the operation from the sidelines.
The rescue effort has captivated the nation with the hashtag #SaveRayan trending across social media (Pictured: Bystanders watch as Moroccan emergency teams work to rescue the five-year-old boy)
Officials said that Friday’s mission entered its final stage. There was less than 20 feet of earth to be dug to reach the man, but it is possible for the well to collapse before the operation can reach the man.
The scene was captured in photographs. Multiple diggers were seen digging into the soil from various directions, finding the boy. As small groups gathered at the edges of the growing pit, the pictures show the scenes.
The footage captured rescuers scanning the shaft below the boy to assess his condition. Later, floodlights were turned on by rescuers so they could continue to work overnight.
With the #SaveRayan hashtag trending on social media, the rescue efforts have captured the attention of the nation.
Mustapha Baitas yesterday said, “The child is being saved.” “We are thinking of the family and are hoping that he’ll be with them soon.”
According to local media, he was reported as having taken water and food that had been dropped from a rope.
Morocco’s official MAP media agency reported that five bulldozers were used to excavate a trench parallel to the well. The rescue workers hope to reach the boy to rescue him.
According to state TV Al Oul, the well’s diameter shrinks with each step. It was 18 inches at its highest point, and 45 centimeters wide at the bottom. This prevents rescuers from having to descend themselves in order bring him up.
Rescuers couldn’t reach the shaft due to its narrowness, so they used heavy diggers to create a new hole.
Le360 reported on Thursday that rescuers would be able to reach the boy if they dig only nine metres (30 feet).
According to MAP, rescuers were able send the victim oxygen and water through pipes.
Pictured is the hole in a well seen in front of the boy, which is believed to be 100 feet below the ground. Meanwhile in the background are diggers working at multiple angles to save him.
As local authorities and civil defense dig in the hill to save a 5-year-old boy from a hole in the vicinity of Bab Berred, near Chefchaouen in Morocco on Thursday February 3, 2022, residents watch with concern.
Pictured is a video showing rescue workers dropping cables down to the well to get the boy.
Moroccans still waited in anxious anticipation on Thursday evening as firefighters and authorities began the rescue operation from the well. Officials tonight stated that the mission was close to its conclusion.
Video and pictures from today’s scene showed several diggers digging deep in the earth from many directions in an attempt to reach the boy. As small groups gathered around the edges of the growing pit, video and photographs from the scene also captured the moment.
Because the boy’s shaft was too small for rescuers, heavy diggers were sent to dug a parallel hole. The boy has fallen for more than 40 hours.
Rayan’s father informed Le360 that Rayan fell into the well while he was fixing it.
Abdelhabi Temrani, the lead rescuer, told Al Oula Television that the well’s diameter was less than 45 cm.
Baitas explained that it was dangerous to attempt to expand the hole. Major excavations around the hole were therefore the only way to solve the problem.
Online support has been overwhelming for the drama, and the hashtag #SaveRayan became a viral trend in Arabic across North Africa, as well, neighbouring Algeria.
One person on Twitter wrote that “The heart of all Moroccans is with this angel.”
Baitas explained that this boy’s tragic fate attracted large numbers of people to the scene of the operation. It also put pressure on rescuers who had to operate in “difficult circumstances”.
He said, “We ask citizens to allow rescuers to do their jobs and save the child,”
According to national news station 2M, authorities have prepared a helicopter for the transport of the child to hospital after he has been extracted.
Pictured is a video of the screen that shows footage taken by a camera during its descent into the well at the bottom where the boy plunged 100ft. Rescuers couldn’t reach the boy because the shaft was so narrow. They had to cut through the wall of the well to get to him.
Le360, a news site that reports on Thursday afternoon said “only nine meters” (30 feet) had been dug to allow rescuers access to the boy.
Local authorities and civil defense teams dig in a hill to try to rescue the boy, who was 5 years old, from a hole that had been dug near Bab Berred in Chefchaouen (Morocco), Thursday, February 3, 2022. Residents are watching in horror
Moroccan firefighters and authorities are assisting Reyan, a five-year old child, to rescue him from a well in which he had fallen two days prior, near Bab Berred (Morocco), 03/02/2022
The story of Baby Jessica, who fell into a Texas water well
Rayan’s well-being has been compared with that of Jessica McClure Morales. She was 18 months old when she fell into the well at her aunt’s Midland home in Texas.
Rescuers worked tirelessly for 58 hours to free the woman from the well, which was 22 feet deep.
Like Rayan, rescuers decided that they would dig parallel to Jessica’s hole because Jessica had a narrow 8 inch (20 cm) well opening. The rescuers then used a horizontal cross-tunnel drill to get her, but it wasn’t easy.
The well had been surrounded by rocks and rescuers and local oil drillers couldn’t reach it.
The tunnel horizontal was finally created. Waterjet cutting is an industrial tool that uses water pressure and an abrasive material to slice through rocks.
Jessica was eventually rescued by Robert O’Donnell, paramedic. O’Donnell climbed into the tunnel and lifted Jessica from an awkward position in which she had one leg above her head.
Rescuers brought her up to safety, but she had dirt on her skin and bruises. Her right hand was still stuck to her head.
Baby Jessica, who was finally rescued by rescuers, was covered in dirt, bruises and had her right hand stuck to her face.
Jessica after she was pulled free from the shaft. Jessica lost one toe to Gangrene when her leg was pinched above her head underground shaft.
Like Rayan, rescuers decided that they would dig parallel to Jessica’s well. Because Jessica had a well opening 8 inches (20 cm), it was too small for them to just drop down and reach Jessica. The rescuers then used a horizontal cross-tunnel drill to get her, but it wasn’t without difficulties.
Jessica, now 35, has said in the past that she has little memory of being wedged in the pipe or of the 15 operations that followed her ordeal.
However, a scar running from her hairline to her bridge is still visible. This was caused by her head hitting against the wall.
Jessica lost her toe due to gangrene. One leg was also pinned over her head by the underground shaft.