Child caught in a well ten meters deep: problems with the rescue operation

An Afghan child has been stuck in a well for more than two days. The rescue is difficult.

Kandahar – In Afghanistan*, rescue workers are fighting for the life of a child stuck in a well. The five-year-old boy fell into a 25-meter-deep dry well shaft in the remote village of Schokak in the southern Afghan province of Sabul on Tuesday, the authorities said on Thursday. Rescue workers used bulldozers to dig access to the small Haidar, which was stuck around ten meters below the surface.

Local officials initially gave the boy’s age as nine years old, but relatives later corrected this. The boy was “in good health,” said a spokesman for the Taliban government * via Twitter.

Afghanistan: Child stuck in well

Haidar fell into the well while trying to help adults dig a new borehole in the drought-stricken village, the boy’s grandfather, Haji Abdul Hadi, told AFP.

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According to the authorities, the boy had fallen to the bottom of the shaft and was able to be pulled up a bit before getting stuck around ten meters below the surface. The child was supplied with food and water via a bucket attached to a rope.

Videos on social media show little Haidar sitting in the well shaft with his shoulders pressed against the wall. In one of the videos you can hear the father encouraging the child. “Are you okay, my son? Talk to me and don’t cry, we’re working to get you out,” he says.

Child stuck in well in Afghanistan: Taliban monitor rescue operation

Representatives of the Taliban government monitored the rescue operation in the village, around 120 kilometers northeast of Kandahar. Hundreds of onlookers also gathered at the scene of the accident. So far, four rescue attempts have failed. Recently there have also been problems with the machines that have been used. However, new equipment from the neighboring province of Kandahar should arrive shortly. The villagers also tried it with different devices, but had not been successful so far, it was said.

The case is reminiscent of five-year-old Rayan, who fell into a 32-meter-deep dry well in Morocco in early February. After five days, the child could only be recovered dead. Rayan’s fate had sparked widespread sympathy around the world. (lrg/afp/dpa)

Rubriklistenbild: © Javed Tanveer / AFP