A five-year-old boy has tragically died after being pulled free from a well after a four-day rescue mission.
The child, named Rayan, plunged more than 30 metres through the well’s opening on Tuesday as he played nearby.
A desperate mission was launched to bring the little boy to safety in Chefchaouen, northern Morocco.
Videos from the scene showed 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, although reports soon surfaced stating he had not survived.
TV network 2M reports that King Mohammed VI had called Rayan’s parents to offer his condolences.
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.
