Operations to save Ayoub, the 10-year-old boy who fell into an artesian well in the province of El Bayadh, in southwestern Algeria, have entered their fourth day. In the last few hours, rescuers completed one of the most delicate phases, completing the vertical shaft dug parallel to the one into which the child fell and a man from the Civil Protection descended to begin opening a horizontal passage towards the point where Ayoub is believed to be. The problem, however, is understanding precisely where to go.
Ayoub, the child who fell into an 80 meter well in Algeria, didn’t make it: he was pulled out dead
The well is 80 meters deep
The well into which the child fell is approximately 80 meters deep and just 40 centimeters wide and above all, as explained by the Civil Protection, its path underground is not perfectly vertical, a feature discovered during the operations which makes it much more difficult to establish Ayoub’s exact position.
According to what was reported to the agency Anadolu by Lieutenant Colonel Nassim Bernaoui, deputy director of information of the Algerian Civil Protection, the parallel vertical excavation was completed around midnight. At that point a rescuer went down into the new conduit to start digging laterally.
“From the beginning the operation was complex and difficult”, explained Bernaoui, specifying that the child is at a considerable depth and that above him there is earth to be moved. However, after reaching the expected height with the parallel well, the technicians found that the old hole has no pipe and follows an irregular path. For this reason, specialists were called in to reconstruct the route and identify the exact point towards which to direct the horizontal excavation.
The excavations continue both with mechanical means and manually, following the indications of technicians and experts. Each meter requires particular attention to avoid vibrations and new failures, Algerian media report following the operations on site. Specific rooms have also been used for the inspection of the wells, while medical teams and an ambulance remain ready next to the excavation area to intervene immediately in the event of an extraction.
How Ayoub fell into the well
The accident occurred around midday on Wednesday 2 September in the Er-Rokn area, in the El Ghassoul territory. According to his father’s reconstruction, Ayoub had gone to bring something to his brother who was in the area with the flock. On the way back he would have stopped on a plywood board that covered the opening of the old well. The wood gave way and the child fell into the duct.
When the father arrived on site he called his son and, at least in the early stages, Ayoub answered him. The parent said he heard him crying and shouting: “Daddy, get me out.” During the first attempts at contact, a lamp was dropped into the well from above and Ayoub managed to grab it. Thereafter no more audible responses would come from the child.
Residents of the area and people arriving from nearby areas gathered around the site of the accident, while the story has become one of the most followed topics in Algeria. The provincial authorities have set up a crisis cell coordinated by the wali of El Bayadh, Noureddine Belaribi, with civil protection, security forces and local authorities.