Morocco well rescue enters fourth day with five-year-old boy still trapped

Rescuers say they are within 10ft of the trapped boy

The rescue mission to save a five-year-old boy trapped in a 100-foot well entered the fourth day in Northern Morocco as rescuers say they are in the final stages of their operation.

The boy, named by local media as Rayan, plunged 104ft through the well’s narrow opening in the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen on Tuesday.

Since then local rescue teams have undertaken a complex operation to reach the child, with the case attracting attention from across the world. Thousands of people have been gathering at the site to witness the operation unfold.

Rescuers are now just 10ft away from the boy, officials told local media on Saturday. Rescue team members are now using manual drills to penetrate the final stretch of ground separating them from the trapped five-year-old.

“This stage is the most important and most complicated one,” one of the rescuers, Abdelhadi Temrani, told The New York Times on Friday.

“We’re almost there. We’ve been working non-stop for three days and tiredness is kicking in, but the whole rescue team is hanging on,” Abdesalam Makoudi, one of the leaders of the operation, told Al Jazeera.

Authorities have said the operation is particularly risky due to the fear of mudslides. Rescuers used bulldozers and drilling machines to dig a parallel shaft from which they could tunnel through to reach the child. Rocky stretches have also been making the operation difficult.

Rescuers have lowered an oxygen mask, food and water into the well. A medical team is also onsite, ready to treat the boy.

Some videos from the rescue team showed Rayan waiting in a narrow notch of earth and stone, with what appear to be scratches across his face. The boy appears dazed and distraught.

Rayan was reportedly with his father, who had been repairing the well when the accident happened.