IGHRANE: Morocco held its breath as rescue workers on Saturday entered a tunnel leading to a pocket where a five-year-old boy has been trapped for days after falling into a well, correspondents said.

For five days the complex and risky earth-moving operation has gripped residents of the North African kingdom and beyond, also sparking sympathy in neighbouring Algeria, a regional rival.

A medical team was with the rescuers, who still hope to find young Rayan alive. It was not immediately clear how long it would take for them to exit the tunnel.

A camera inserted into the well where Rayan is stuck had shown him, from behind, lying on his side, said Abdelhadi Tamrani, an official in charge of the operation.

But it is “impossible to say with certainty that he is alive,” Tamrani said.

Onlookers applauded to encourage the rescuers, sang religious songs or prayed, chanting in unison “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest).

The more time that passes, the more fears arise over Rayan’s condition.

Rescuers had tried to get oxygen and water down to the child but it was not clear whether he was able to use the vital supplies, reporters said.

Rayan accidentally fell about 32 metres (100 feet) down the narrow shaft near his home in the remote village of Ighrane in Chefchaouen province on Tuesday afternoon.

Rescue crews, using bulldozers and front-end loaders, excavated the surrounding red earth down to the level where the boy is trapped and are now digging horizontally towards him, by hand. They face a risk of landslides, and on Saturday had to manoeuvre around a large rock which blocked their way.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2022