Rescuers managed to pull out a five-year-old boy who had been stuck in a well for five days.
But minutes after he was taken to hospital by ambulance, the Maghreb royal court issued a statement announcing that Ryan was dead.
King Mohammed VI of Morocco has offered his condolences to the parents on the death of the child. A statement from the Maghreb court stated that the king was following the rescue operation until the last moment.
Ryan’s story has become the focus of Moroccan people, with thousands gathering at the scene, or pursuing rescue operations online. The media around the world also covered this issue.
Many Moroccans are saddened by the news of his death, local media reported.
When Ryan pulled out, the people gathered near the well first cheered, believing he was alive.
A complex operation has been underway in recent days in the northwestern town of Sheffshawn, a mountainous and cold region. In the last phase of the operation, rescuers dug the tunnel leading to the well with their own hands, and the operation stopped an hour ago.
According to local Maghreb media, a medical team entered the tunnel to examine him closely.
It is not clear whether he died before or after he was pulled out of the well.
Rescuers sent an oxygen mask, food and water into the well.
Ryan had fallen to a depth of more than 32 meters five days before the narrow mouth of the well.
Because the wellheads and walls were not large enough, rescuers were unable to enter the well to rescue Ryan. For this reason, they carefully dug a pit near this well and proceeded to the path of the child’s fall.
When Ryan fell into the well, his father was repairing the well.
