RABAT: The death of 5-year-old Rayan Awram despite a massive effort to rescue him from a deep well sparked an outpouring of sympathy on Sunday, from his village in northern Morocco to the Vatican, from King Mohammed to international football clubs.

The saga of the ultimately failed rescue attempt gripped the country and many people abroad for days.

Rayan fell into the well in Ighran village near the town of Chefchaouen on Tuesday and his body was finally pulled out late on Saturday, following an operation that involved cutting much of the adjacent hillside and then tunneling towards the bottom of the well to reach the child.

Many of the weary rescue workers and the hundreds of people who had gathered around the well hoping for good news burst into tears when they heard Rayan was dead.

I heard people shout in jubilation after the boy was found thinking he was alive but then we learnt he was not. I never felt this sad, an onlooker called Noureddine said.

The boy’s parents spoke to state Al Oula TV after their son’s body was recovered.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2022