The King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, has announced the death of the five-year-old boy who was trapped in a well in the kingdom.
The young boy, Rayan, had been trapped in a deep well for four days, and his body was recovered on 5 February.
The Royal Cabinet said on 5 February: “Following the tragic incident which cost the life of the child Rayan Aourram, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God preserve him, had a telephone call with Mr Khaled Aourram and Mrs Ouassima Kharchich, parents of the deceased who died following his fall into a well.
“In this painful circumstance, His Majesty the King, may God assist him, expressed His deepest condolences and His sincere compassion to all the members of the family of the deceased in this painful ordeal, the divine will being unstoppable, imploring the Almighty to welcome him into His holy mercy and into His vast paradise and to grant patience and comfort to his family who lost their child.
“HM the King, may God glorify Him, assured that He closely followed the developments of this painful incident and that He had given His High Instructions to the authorities concerned to take the necessary measures and to deploy all possible efforts in order to save the deceased, but the will of God being unstoppable, the child responded to the call of the Most High.
“The Sovereign, may God preserve Him, expressed His consideration for the tireless efforts made by the various authorities, public forces, and associative actors, as well as for the outpouring of solidarity and the broad sympathy expressed with regard to the family of the deceased by the different Moroccan categories and families, in this painful circumstance.
“In conclusion, His Majesty the King assured the family of the deceased of His High Benevolence and High Solicitude.”
Rayan fell into the 32-metre well outside his home on the evening of 1 February. Rescuers worked for days to free the young boy but were slowed down due to the hard rock that they feared could cause a landslide. They sent oxygen and water down to the child during the rescue, but on the morning of the 5th, the head of the rescue committee, Abdelhadi Temrani, said that it was impossible to know Rayan’s condition.
The circumstances on how the boy fell into the well are unclear.
