Photos: Rescue operation to save 5-year-old Moroccan boy trapped in well

Rescuers have inched closer to reaching a five-year-old boy trapped for for four nights in a well in Morocco, in an operation hampered by concerns about ground stability that has captivated the north African country. Rayan fell into a 32 metre (105 ft) well located outside his home in the village of Ighran in Morocco’s northern Chefchaouen province on Tuesday evening.

A general view shows the site where rescuers are working to reach a five-year-old boy trapped in a well.

The complex and risky earth-moving operation, now in its fifth day, has gripped residents of the North African kingdom and sparked a huge wave of sympathy across the globe. Have a look:

Thousands of people gathered around the site of the accident, surrounded by olive trees, where the tension was palpable. Civil defence workers and local authorities attempt to rescue a 5-year-old boy who fell into a hole near the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen on Feb. 4, 2022, in Ighran.

A view shows a well into which a five-year-old boy fell.

People use machinery to excavate the ground to free a boy trapped in an underground well, in Chefchaouen, Morocco, February 4, 2022, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.

Rescuers work to free Rayan who fell into a well in Chefchaouen on February 4, 2022, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.

The operation was made more complex by the mix of rocky and sandy soils and the risk of a landslide.

A resident climbs in a tree to watch civil defence and local authorities attempting to rescue a 5-year-old boy who fell into a hole near the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen on Feb. 4, 2022, in Ighran.

A civil defense worker attempts to rescue a 5-year-old boy who fell into a hole near the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.

Residents watch in concern as civil defense and local authorities attempt to rescue a 5-year-old boy who fell into a hole near the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.

Residents watch in concern as civil defense and local authorities attempting to rescue a 5 year old boy who fell into a hole near the town of Bab Berred near Chefchaouen, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022 in Paris.

The teams have been working around the clock, turning the landscape into a construction site.

Moroccan authorities and firefighters work to rescue five-year-old boy Rayan, who is trapped in a deep well for over two days in Morocco's rural northern province of Chefchaouen on February 3, 2022.

Search crews first used five bulldozers over days to dig vertically to a depth of more than 31 meters, according to Morocco's official MAP news agency. Then on Friday, they started excavating a horizontal tunnel to reach the trapped boy, MAP said, adding that experts in topographical engineering were called upon for help.

Bystanders watch as Moroccan authorities and firefighters work to rescue five-year-old boy Rayan, who is trapped in a deep well for over two days, near Bab Berred in Morocco's rural northern province of Chefchaouen on February 3, 2022.