Algeria civil defence recovers body of 10-year-old boy from well

Child found dead after four-day rescue effort in Algeria’s western province of el-Bayadh.

Rescue teams tried for four days to reach the child Ayoub [Courtesy of Bawabat Al-Jazayer]

The body of a 10-year-old boy has been recovered from a well in Algeria’s western province of el-Bayadh, the country’s civil protection agency said, ending a four-day rescue operation that had drawn national attention.

The agency said in a statement on Facebook on Saturday that rescue teams reached the boy, Ayoub, who had died, and recovered his body. It said local authorities and other agencies had mobilised all available resources for the operation.

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Ayoub fell into the dry well on Wednesday while walking home in the village of Errokn, in the municipality of Ghassoul. He stepped on a wooden board covering the well opening, which gave way beneath him, and he plunged into the shaft, which was about 80 metres (262 feet) deep and 40cm (15.75 inches) in diameter.

Rescuers were unable to descend into the well, so they dug a parallel shaft to reach the boy through a horizontal passage, using machinery alongside technical experts, work that continued over several days. Loose soil and hard rock layers complicated the effort, officials said.

Rescuers trying to save Ayoub [Courtesy of Bawabat Al-Jazayer]

Authorities in el-Bayadh formed a crisis response unit under the provincial governor, Noureddine Belarbi, involving civil protection, security and military personnel.

Large crowds of residents gathered near the site over the following days to follow the operation and offer support to the family, while additional civil protection units were deployed as the rescue entered what officials described as a “decisive” phase on its fourth day.

Ayoub’s death has revived public debate in Algeria over the safety of unsecured wells in rural areas, with commentators questioning the lack of regulation covering such structures, particularly in isolated regions.

The case recalled the 2018 death of a young man who fell into a 100-metre (328-foot) well in Msila province, where a rescue operation lasted nine days before his body was recovered, and the widely followed 2022 case of Moroccan toddler Rayan, who died after falling into a 32-metre (105-foot) well and being trapped for more than 100 hours in an operation that drew global attention before he was pulled out and later confirmed dead.

在阿尔及利亚西部巴耶德省，经过四天的救援行动，一名儿童被发现死亡。

救援队连续四天试图营救被困儿童阿尤布。[图片由Bawabat Al-Jazayer提供]

阿尔及利亚民防部门表示，一名10岁男孩的遗体已从该国西部巴耶德省的一口井中被找到，结束了为期四天的救援行动，该行动曾引起全国关注。

该机构周六在脸书上发表声明称，救援队已抵达遇难男孩阿尤布的住所，并找到了他的遗体。声明还表示，地方当局和其他机构已调动一切可用资源参与此次救援行动。

阿尔及利亚居民悼念在山火中丧生的邻居（共3条记录，此为第1条）

阿尔及利亚山火死亡人数预计将上升（共3份名单中的第2份），幸存者称已无物可逃。

阿尔及利亚总统寻求对纵火者判处死刑（共3条，此为第3条）

周三，阿尤布在加苏尔市埃罗克恩村步行回家时，不慎掉入一口干涸的井中。他踩到覆盖井口的木板，木板在他脚下突然断裂，他便坠入了这口深约 80 米（262 英尺）、直径约 40 厘米（15.75 英寸）的井中。

救援人员无法进入井内，于是他们挖掘了一条平行竖井，以便在技术专家的协助下，通过水平通道抵达被困男孩的所在位置。这项工作持续了数天。官员表示，松散的土壤和坚硬的岩层使救援工作更加复杂。

救援人员正在努力营救阿尤布 [图片由 Bawabat Al-Jazayer 提供]

巴亚德当局在省长努尔丁·贝拉尔比的领导下成立了危机应对小组，成员包括民防、安保和军事人员。

在接下来的几天里，大批居民聚集在事发地点附近，关注救援行动并向遇难者家属表示支持。随着救援行动进入官员们所说的“决定性”阶段（第四天），更多的民防部队也被部署到位。

阿尤布的死在阿尔及利亚重新引发了公众对农村地区未加防护水井安全性的辩论，评论员质疑缺乏对这类设施的监管，尤其是在偏远地区。

这起案件让人想起 2018 年一名年轻男子在姆西拉省坠入 100 米（328 英尺）深的井中身亡的事件，救援行动持续了九天才找到他的遗体；以及 2022 年备受关注的摩洛哥幼童雷扬的案件，他坠入 32 米（105 英尺）深的井中，被困 100 多个小时后死亡，救援行动引起了全球关注，最终他被救出，但随后被确认死亡。