Trapped in the well for four days, baby Rayan dies. The sad world for the event

A five-year-old Moroccan boy, who remained trapped in a well for four days, has died, despite painstaking efforts to save him.

A royal statement announced his death shortly after he was pulled from the well. The attempt to free the boy, named Rayan, had gripped the country, with hundreds of people gathered in the well and millions more watching live online.

The boy fell to a depth of 32 meters through the narrow opening of the well. Rescue was hampered by the fear of a landslide. Rescue crews finally pulled the boy out of the well Saturday night. No words were said at that moment about his condition, and apparent salvation was initially greeted with applause from the crowd.

On social media, people using the hashtag #SaveRayan (save Rayan), which had been in trend all over the country and beyond, all over the world. But that turned to anger a few minutes later when the statement came announcing that Rayan had died. Twitter users then began to express homage and sadness using the same hashtag.

"Rayan's courage will remain in our memories and will continue to inspire us," wrote Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer.

In a Facebook post, French President Emmanuel Macron wrote: "Tonight, I want to tell little Rayan's family and the Moroccan people that we share their pain."

The statement from the royal palace described Rayan's death as a "tragic accident", adding: "His Majesty King Mohammed VI called the parents of the boy who died after falling into the well."

The king had expressed his deepest condolences and sincere compassion, it is further said.

Rayan's father was repairing the well at the time of the accident on Tuesday. He told local media the next day that his son had crashed into "that one moment when I took my eyes off him", adding: "I have not slept a single moment."

Led by the Moroccan Directorate of Civil Defense, rescue operations in the small northern town of Tamorot, about 100 km (62 miles) from the city of Chefchaouen, began Tuesday evening.

Thursday footage from a camera sitting in the well showed that the boy was alive and conscious, but since then there has been no information on his condition. Rescue crews tried to give the boy oxygen, food and water, but it was unclear if he was able to use them. The mixture of rocky and sandy soils meant that rescuers considered the opening of the narrow shaft of the water well as too dangerous.

Instead, bulldozers were used to cut a large trench near the well. Rescue crews then began digging horizontally to reach the boy. Some worked all night, using powerful floodlights.

The operation had to be briefly interrupted several times to allow the crews to check if the hill was safe from collapsing and that no land was entering the well. Large pipes were also used to protect rescue crews ensuring a safe passage on the shaft. Hundreds of people gathered to watch the operation, singing religious songs, praying and chanting "Allahu Akbar".

A local resident, Hafid El-Azzouz, told the AFP news agency that he was there to show "solidarity with this child, who is loved by Morocco and the world".

The incident is reminiscent of a similar tragedy in Spain in 2019, in which a two-year-old boy died after falling into a pit near the city of Malaga.