Hero workman tried to rescue boy trapped in well by 'digging for days with bare hands'

A workman who dug with his bare hands for three days in an attempt to save the life of a young boy trapped 100ft down a well has been praised as a hero.

Tragic Rayan Oram died before rescue teams could dig deep enough to save him, eventually being pulled free and brought to the surface.

The rescuers who fought for five days to reach him in the village of Ighran, in Morocco 's Chefchaouen region, have been praised for their efforts, despite the sad ending, The Sun reported.

Chief among them was Bwa Sahraoui thanks to a video on social media showing him digging through the last few feet with just his bare hands.

Bwa and other rescuers dig the final few feet to reach trapped Rayan, five (Twitter)

Tragic Ryan Oram did not survive his five-day ordeal at the bottom of the well (ITV)

One impressed Twitter user said: “Unbelievable…not all heroes wear capes.

“Great respect to this gentleman: Bwa Sahraoui, who dug for 3 days by hand to save the life of the little #Rayan while risking his own life.”

Another said: “A big congratulations for valiant Sahrawi Bwa.”

Another user praised him, saying: “Respect to the Moroccan people, to the teams who have fought for 5 days to save him and to Bwa Sahraoui who dug the last meters with his hands.”

An exhausted looking Bwa Sahraoui takes a drink after days of digging with his hands (Twitter)

An image of an exhausted looking Bwa, covered in dust and rubble whilst drinking from a bottle, was also widely shared.

Little Rayan fell into the well in the hills of Chefchaouen on Tuesday, triggering a huge rescue effort which was followed by millions around the world.

They attempted to keep the boy alive by lowering food, water and oxygen through a tube.

Efforts were hampered by fears of landslides and there were cheers on Saturday evening when he was brought to the surface.

Emergency services work on the five-year-old on Saturday night (AFP via Getty Images)

Rayan's parents shortly after their son was pulled from the well (Jalal Morchidi/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Soon afterwards the worst was confirmed as a statement from Morocco's royal palace confirmed he had not survived.

Footage posted on social media showed hundreds of distraught rescue workers

and onlookers gathered at the site chanting to god and shining the flashlights of their phones into the air.

It said: “His Majesty King Mohammed VI called the parents of the boy who died after falling down the well."

The Moroccan royal family put out a statement revealing the tragic boy did not survive (Jalal Morchidi/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Earlier today Pope Francis praised the Moroccan people for their desperate attempt to save the boy’s life and said he was “saddened” by the tragic end.

He said: “The people clung together, as a whole, to save Rayan, they

worked together to save a child,

"(The rescuers) tried their best, unfortunately they did not make it, but that (was) an example.”