Rescuers are still working to free a 10-year-old boy who fell into an 80-metre deep well in southwestern Algeria, civil protection authorities said. The rescue operation attracted nationwide attention and social media was flooded with appeals to save the child, identified by authorities only as Ayoub.
Four days of excavations
Rescue teams have been working for four days to reach Ayoub, who fell into the well near his home in the desert municipality of Brezina, in the province of El Bayadh, about 550 kilometers south of Algiers. Rescuers said they had difficulty reaching him because he was “trapped under a thick layer of earth.”
A duct 40 centimeters wide
Civil Protection explained that the well was dry, dug using traditional methods and had a diameter of only 40 centimeters, which made Ayoub’s rescue operations difficult. Images released by authorities and local media showed heavy machinery digging a large trench at the side of the well to reach the child.