Rabat - Moroccans are still holding their breath as they continue efforts to rescue Rayan, who fell into a narrow well in a village on the outskirts of the city of Chefchaouen in northern Morocco (about 500 km from the capital, Rabat).
Efforts to rescue the five-year-old child have been going on for 50 hours, while the little one is still struggling to survive after spending two nights inside the well and possibly sustaining fractures as a result of his fall.
The drilling reached a depth of 23 meters until ten in the morning, according to what was explained to Al-Jazeera Net, Muhammad Adel Al-Tato, the journalist at the place since last night.
The Moroccans did not sleep that night, and they follow the developments of the rescue efforts, and publish on social media posts including prayers for the child and his parents, and suggestions to speed up the stages of rescue, while the websites continued their direct field follow-up through their local correspondents.
The family is clinging to hope
The child Rayan fell into a narrow well 30 meters deep near his family's home in the mountainous village of Agran, on the outskirts of Chefchaouen, on Tuesday.
The child suddenly disappeared from view, and after his family searched for him, they found the well without a cover and small footprints next to it. They alerted the local authorities and made sure that he fell into the well after lowering a phone camera into it.
The search began locally using traditional means, and after the impossibility of reaching the child, the authorities in the city of Chefchaouen were notified and the search devices expanded to intensify efforts since Wednesday night, after the news spread through social networking sites.
In a weak and distressed voice, the father of the child, Khaled Oram, explains - to Al Jazeera Net - that his family lives on the impact of waiting, between moments of optimism and pessimism.
He pointed out that Rayan's mother has become in a difficult situation and faints from time to time, making it difficult for the state of anticipation they live in and the failure of attempts to save him since Tuesday.
The well in which the child fell is located near the family home, and work was continuing in it to find water. According to Adel Al-Tato, the child's relatives say that the surface of the well was covered with a zinc cover, and they believe that a cart passed over it and removed it.
The grieving father feels bitterness and sadness with the passage of time, clinging to the last hope, which is the approaching drilling process to reach the depth of the well, hoping that God will grant his son the strength so that the rescuers can reach him.
Rescue efforts continue
Drilling operations continue in the vicinity of the well with caution for fear of a collapse in the soil. Adel Al-Tato says that the authorities expanded the scope of drilling to become in the form of a semi-circle surrounding the well, and this morning two dredgers joined, bringing their number to 6, in an attempt to gain time and speed up the rescue.
Adel explained that all attempts to go down to the well were unsuccessful due to its narrowness whenever the rescuers penetrated into it.
He pointed out that a slender volunteer went down to the well and approached the child, but a stone prevented him from reaching him. The authorities sought the assistance of an expert in the "Istghwar" association. He went down twice to the well and crossed 17 meters in the first, and in the second 24 meters, he was unable to continue due to the narrowness of the hole. However, he managed to call the child Ryan and respond to him in a low voice.
According to Adel, the child lost movement at the bottom of the well and passed out from time to time, but until Thursday morning he was still alive and breathing despite his weak powers.
He added that the authorities are following up on his situation through a camera attached to a rope, and oxygen is being supplied to him through another rope, and they send him water and milk, and they also send him from time to time a radio to make him feel comfortable inside the well.
The crowds flocked to the area from the residents of the region and the neighboring villages and the city of Chefchaouen, while the Moroccans follow the developments through correspondence websites, official TV and social networking sites.
After the crowds, estimated at about 4,000, increased, the authorities worked to organize the operation, evacuating the area around the well, and preventing the crowd and journalists from approaching it by about 50 meters, while a helicopter was flying in the place.
Since last night, the local authorities, along with security officials, have been supervising the progress and organization of the rescue operation. In addition to the civil protection elements, the Royal Gendarmerie and the auxiliary forces are stationed in the area.
Follow and Solidarity
Moroccans follow through the websites the case of the child Ryan, and the hashtag "#Save the Child Ryan" was issued on social media, and solidarity campaigns were launched in a number of countries to support his family and encourage rescue efforts.
Moroccan writer Youssef Tawfik said in a Facebook post, "Since yesterday, I have followed the operation to rescue the child Rayan, which continues until this moment. There is a heartbreaking and catastrophic face in the case, and there is a bright face represented in the solidarity shown by Moroccans from all regions, whether through direct attendance and willingness to sacrifice themselves or from During the follow-up and sympathy, I also do not fail to pay tribute to the many brothers from some brotherly and friendly countries such as Algeria and Egypt, who have not fallen asleep since yesterday, and have not stopped praying and praying for our son, the child Rayan.
Moroccan journalist Ismail Azzam wrote in a blog post, "Rescuing the child Rayan must be the issue of all Moroccans at this moment.. Attempts to save the child are continuing and civil protection is doing more than its efforts, but the matter needs special intervention in more advanced ways, more powerful equipment, and tested rescue crews, even if forced The authorities are asking for urgent transportation for special teams from other cities. This is a challenge that must be won in any way. Rayan's life concerns Moroccans as a whole, not just his family or neighbors."
As time passes, Moroccans and followers from outside Morocco put their hands on their hearts, hoping that the story of the child Rayan will have a happy ending and return to his family safe and sound.
Government follow up
The Moroccan government is closely following the rescue efforts, as the delegated minister in charge of relations with Parliament, government spokesman, Mustafa Baitas, revealed that the Minister of the Interior submitted a report in the Governmental Council on the matter.
In the press conference that followed the government council held this Thursday afternoon, the minister revealed that the rescuers had developed a set of scenarios to get the child Rayan out of the well under the directives of the Ministers of Interior, Health and Social Protection and under the supervision of the Prime Minister, including expanding the diameter of the hole, landing one of the rescuers, and then drilling in a way Parallel to the surface of the well with a diameter of 45 centimeters, in order to find an outlet for access to the child.
The minister stressed that the state does not have a problem with the mechanisms and expertise, pointing out that the Kingdom has the ability, capacity, experience and sense to intervene and that the rescue committees work day and night to save the child Ryan, but the nature of the soil makes it difficult to intervene.
"The fear, if the intervention is strong from the mechanisms and vehicles, that another tragedy will occur," he said, adding that the massive crowds flocked to the scene of the accident, making it difficult for the rescue efforts.
He indicated that a specialized medical escort was allocated in the place, in order to take care of the child Rayan immediately after saving him, hoping that this crisis would end and the child would return to his family.