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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

World Mourns Moroccan Child Rayan

The boy had been stuck in the well, located in the northern village of Ighran in Morocco's Chefchaouen province, since falling into it Tuesday. (AP

The world mourned on Sunday the passing of Moroccan child Rayan, who was trapped in a well in northern Moroccan for five days and died before rescuers were able to reach him.

The saga had engrossed the Kingdom and the world and his death reverberated across the globe.

Rayan Awram, aged five, fell into the well at his village of Ighran in the hills near Chefchaouen on Tuesday, triggering a huge rescue effort.

Rescuers finally reached him late on Saturday after removing much of the adjacent hillside and delicately tunneling a horizontal passage into the well.

King Mohammed sent condolences to his parents, a statement carried by state media reported.

The well was only 45 cm (18 inches) wide at the top and tapered as it dropped 32 meters (100 feet) to the bottom, where Rayan was trapped, making it impossible for rescuers to descend directly.

Social media users had closely followed the rescue efforts. An outpouring of condolences came in from across the world, from as far as Yemen and the United States.

The Saudi embassy in Morocco offered its condolences to Rayan's family and the Moroccan leadership and people. It hailed the massive efforts that went towards saving him.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry expressed the condolences of Egypt, saying it stands by Morocco during this sad time.

The entire saga created unprecedented global humanitarian solidarity, it noted.

AC Milan's Algerian player Ismaël Bennacer tweeted a cartoon of Rayan being lifted away to the sky by a heart-shaped balloon showing the Moroccan flag.

He said the child "will remain in our memories and will continue to inspire us."

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted his condolences to Rayan's family and the Moroccan people.

Moroccan-American novelist Laila Lalami tweeted: "We all of us had been holding out hope that little Rayan would make it. This is all so tragic."

Egyptian actor Mohamed Henedy tweeted that Rayan will not be forgotten. Lebanese singer Ragheb Alameh expressed his sorrow over the sad end of "angel" Rayan's ordeal. Emirati singer Ahlam also offered her condolences to the family.

The hilly region around Chefchaouen is bitterly cold in winter and rescuers attempted to keep the boy alive by lowering food, water and oxygen through a tube.

Rescuers worked round the clock cutting a massive trench through the hillside, then tunneling horizontally towards Rayan, with a constant risk of triggering landslides.

In the final hours of the rescue effort, workers had to move with extreme caution as they attempted to dig through earth and rocks to where Rayan lay.

They were eventually able to access the well late on Saturday, and carried his body to a waiting ambulance.

Crowds had gathered in a vigil at the scene to watch the rescue effort as hundreds of workers toiled to save the child.

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