Ryan Awram Funeral: Rayan Awram, 5, died after becoming stuck for five days after plummeting to the bottom of a 100-foot-deep well in the Moroccan mountains last week.
After rescuers removed her nephew’s body from the 100ft well he had been imprisoned in for five days, a relative expressed her “heartache.”
Rayan Awram, 5, was unable to be resuscitated following a difficult four-day rescue attempt in the Moroccan village of Chefchaouen.
On Tuesday, the boy fell more than 100 feet after going through the well’s opening while playing nearby.
Following the unfortunate death of the youngster, world leaders and social media users have sent their sympathies to the bereaved family.
The lad’s body was wrapped in a gold blanket as he was removed from a tunnel dug to access the well.
Tragic end to Herculean rescue efforts. After a relentless five-day excavation operation to save the 5-year-old Moroccan child Rayan from the well, rescue and medical teams have evacuated the boy. However the boy was confirmed dead according to a statement from the Moroccan Royal Court soon after.
Family in heartbreaking tribute to boy, 5, who died after being trapped in 100ft well
Morocco’s head of state, King Mohammed VI, lead tributes, sending condolences on Twitter as he praised the brave efforts of rescuers and the local community.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron also sent a message to the family, saying the people of France “share their pain”.
He wrote: “Tonight, I want to tell the family of little Rayan and the Moroccan people that we share their pain.”
Social media users also posted tributes after the child’s tragic death.
Using the SaveRyan hashtag, one wrote: “Rayan may you rest with the angels… I wish you knew you were not alone all those days and that everyone around the world was praying for your safe return.
“Morocco did you proud.’
Another wrote: ‘Rest in peace, tears stream around the world for Rayan tonight – no regrets please from his rescuers because they honestly did everything they could to save that little boy!’
Villagers thronged outside the well, hoping an praying for Rayan’s safe return
Video from the scene show a large convoy of emergency workers and volunteers carrying the little boy to an ambulance after he was finally freed from the bottom of the well.
His rescue initially sparked a huge outpouring of joy, but devastating reports soon confirmed that he had not survived.
TV network 2M reports that King Mohammed VI had called Rayan’s parents to offer his condolences.
The youngster plunged all the way down the
The monarch had been closely following the rescue effort, but was informed of its heartbreaking conclusion, the network stated.
Hundreds joined efforts to save Rayan as news of his plight spread, and medics were on hand as teams got closer to him.
Workers with mechanical diggers carried out the delicate and dangerous operation, but were constantly delayed by rocks and imperilled by the threat of landslide.
The rescue teams have been praised for working around the clock trying to save the youngster
Anxious locals gathered with Rayan’s family around the rescue site, where they sang “god is greatest” as they prayed for good news.
Pictures on Moroccan media earlier showed Rayan huddled at the bottom of the disused well, which narrows as it descends from 45 cm (18 inches) wide at the top, preventing rescuers from getting down.
Workers in helmets and high-visibility vests carried stretchers, ropes and other equipment down into a trench they dug parallel to the well.
The effort to save Rayan has gripped people across Morocco and crowds gathered in a vigil around the well in the village of Ighran to watch the rescue effort.
Dangerous mission in final stage
For the last four days since the accident, rescuers were delicately removing rocks on Saturday as they dug towards Rayan, a dangerous operation constantly imperilled by the threat of landslides.
On Friday, rescuers began carefully excavating a horizontal tunnel towards the child, sometimes being ordered out to stabilise the earth. The work grew more difficult as they encountered rocks between the trench and the well, a witness said.
A small rock delayed the process of reaching the child, who has been stranded for over 90 hours in a deep well. He fell into the well on Tuesday night, in a village in northern Morocco.
The rescuers are placing concrete tubes into the horizontal tunnel as they dig to allow them to pull Rayan to safety.
Rescuers fear for boy’s life
However, media reports confirmed that the the boy is still alive and rock is located deep in the tunnel that was built to reach the child, as its demolition took three hours, noting that only two metres separated the rescue teams from the boy.
The complex, slow and risky earth-moving operation has gripped residents of the North African kingdom and sparked a huge wave of sympathy across the globe.
Rayan accidentally fell about 32 metres (100 feet) down the tight, empty shaft near his home in the remote village of Ighrane in Chefchaouen province on Tuesday afternoon.
Rescue crews, using bulldozers and front-end loaders, have dug almost all the way down but the final two metres are the most difficult because of the risk of landslides.
RESCUE MISSION IN PICTURES
There has been no information about the fate of the boy, but the more time that passes, the more fears arise over whether he will be recovered alive.
Overnight, crews manoeuvred a heavy pipe into position in the area.
“We’re almost there,” said one of the operation’s leaders, Abdesalam Makoudi, adding “tiredness is kicking in, but the whole rescue team is hanging on.”
Working through darkness
A glacial cold has gripped this mountainous and impoverished region of Rif, which is at an elevation of about 700 metres.
On Thursday Moroccan media reported that rescuers managed to deliver oxygen and water to the bottom of the well.
Thousands of people gathered around the site, surrounded by olive trees, where AFP reporters said the tension was palpable. Some applauded to encourage the rescuers.
The shaft, just 45 centimetres (18 inches) across, was too narrow to reach Rayan, and widening it was deemed too risky – so earth-movers dug a wide slope into the hill to reach him from the side.
