The boy has now been stuck 32 meters below ground for three days. The rescuers dig forward under high pressure, meanwhile only a few meters are missing to salvation.
Rabat – Rescue work continues for the third day in a row after a five-year-old fell into a deep well in Morocco. Rescue workers and helpers continued their work during the night, according to the Moroccan state news agency MAP.
Only a few meters separated the rescuers from the boy in order to get to him. The five-year-old fell 32 meters into an unsecured well near his family’s home on Tuesday afternoon. Rescue workers first tried to pull the boy out of the well on Wednesday, MAP said. However, this was not possible due to the small shaft width. The rescuers also feared that the shaft could collapse because of the soil conditions. The excavation work was repeatedly interrupted. An engineer and surveyor supported the work.
28 by 32 meters dug
Finally, according to MAP, those responsible decided to use heavy equipment to remove earth parallel to the shaft. On Friday night they had penetrated to a depth of 28 meters. The rescuers also lowered a camera to check the boy’s health, and hoses supplied him with water and oxygen.
His mother explained that they had found him after a long search when they heard whimpering coming from the well. They tied a phone to a rope and lowered it below. Parents and helpers comforted the boy. “I’m shocked,” she told Moroccan online portal Hespress. “I pray to God my son gets out of this dilemma alive.”
At a depth of 32 meters, the rescuers want to dig horizontally to free the five-year-old from the well. Six bulldozers were used, and a helicopter and emergency doctors were on hand to rescue the victims. The government declared the rescue an “urgent problem”. dpa
