Morocco united in sorrow as 'little Rayan' is laid to rest

Rayan Oram, the five-year-old boy who died on Saturday after being trapped in a well for five days, has been buried near his village of Ighrane in the Rif Valley. The vast rescue operation showed an outpouring of solidarity in the country and drew praise from around the world.

Five-year-old Rayan Oram is laid to rest in his village of Ighrane in Morocco's rural northern province of Chefchaouen. AFP - FADEL SENNA

The little boy fell down a narrow, 32-metre dry well last Tuesday leading to a complex earth-moving operation to try to reach him without triggering a landslide.

Well-wishers flooded social media with messages of sympathy and prayers in the hope that he would be brought out alive.

On Saturday night, crowds had cheered as rescue workers cleared away the final handfuls of soil to reach him, after the marathon digging operation in the village of Ighrane in northern Morocco's poor Rif mountains.

But the rescue came too late and news of his death was announced by the royal cabinet, after King Mohammed VI called the parents with his condolences.

The child's body was taken to a military hospital in the capital Rabat, accompanied by his parents.

On Monday he was transported to the Douar Zaouia cemetery near his village, where hundreds of mourners attended his funeral.   

🕊🇲🇦 ADIEU RAYAN - Les funérailles du petit #Rayan, 5 ans et décédé samedi ont débuté au #Maroc. Après le choc et l’émotion qui ont accompagné sa mort tragique et ému le monde, des milliers de personnes participent au cortège funèbre dans le village, où s’est dénoué le drame. pic.twitter.com/ZcHgeB1cjr

— ⚡️Bref News (@BrefNewsFR) February 7, 2022

'He brought people together'

Rayan's father Khaled Aourram said he had been repairing the well when his son fell in, close to the family home.

The shaft, just 45 centimetres across, was too narrow for Rayan to be reached directly, and widening it was deemed too risky – so earth movers dug a wide slope into the hill.

Many people came to offer their support, singing and praying to encourage the rescuers who worked around the clock.

Crowds gathered to watch the rescue operation in Chefchaouen. AFP - FADEL SENNA

The race to rescue the boy was followed live across the world, and tributes poured in.

Pope Francis, while mourning the boy's loss, praised the "beautiful" sight of "how all the people gathered together" to try and save a child.

One man worked 22 hours non-stop to try and get the boy out alive, saying his "comfort would be to see Ryan in his parents' arms". Local media reported the man had been rewarded with a free trip to Mecca.

🇲🇦MAROC : un des sauveteurs qui s’occupent de créer un chemin avec les pelleteuses a travaillé pendant 22h sans s’arrêter déclarant : « Mon confort sera de regarder Ryan dans les bras de ses parents ». #Maroc #Rayan pic.twitter.com/noG4htAlWX

— Actualiste (@Actualistes) February 4, 2022

Social media across the Arab world was flooded with messages of support, grief, and praise for rescue workers.

"He has brought people together around him," one Twitter user said.

But one deplored a "dystopian world" where "Arab nations are moved" by the Morocco rescue operation for the child while vast numbers of infants die in conflict or famine in Yemen and Syria.

The Arabic daily newspaper Assabah also sounded a critical note, saying the many unauthorised wells were dug to irrigate cannabis widely grown in the Atlas mountain region.

Tragic death of ‘little Rayan’ in Morocco Emmanuelle MICHEL AFP

(with AFP)