Funeral held for boy, 5, who died trapped down well as footballer offers to buy house for his parents
HUNDREDS have gathered at the funeral of five-year-old Rayan who died of his injuries after being trapped down a well for days.
Despite heroic efforts to save his life, the little boy tragically died after being pulled from the 100ft well in the village Ighran in Morocco.
Rayan Awran fell down the well outside his home on Tuesday evening while his dad was fixing it and forgot to cover it up.
A desperate race-against-the-clock mission was launched to save him, with crews digging a tunnel alongside the well, all the while trying to prevent a deadly landslide.
They were able to reach the boy on Saturday but government officials later confirmed that he had died before rescuers could reach him and couldn’t be resuscitated.
And today mourners attended the five-year-old’s funeral in the region of Chefchaouen where they waited for hours for the funeral to observe the Muslim burial rituals.
Two large tents were erected in front of the grieving family’s house, where mourners could stop to offer condolences.
One villager said: “I am over 50 years old and [have] never seen as many people in a funeral. Rayan is the son of us all.
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Another one said “Rayan’s death has renewed faith in humanity as people in different languages and from different countries express solidarity.”
The boy’s mum Ouassima Kharchich, said: “This is God’s will. I thank all for their efforts to help.”
“We thank so much the people and authorities … who helped us,” the boy’s father, Khalid Awram, added.
Meanwhile international footballer Abderrazak Hamdallah has offered his condolences in an Instagram post and even offered to buy the family a new home “to help and bring a little joy.”
He wrote: “We have gone through five very remote days and our hearts were snatched from us, Moroccans, all Arabs and Muslims, and even the whole world
“We praised and thanked God for everything that Rayan took, and he was more merciful to us and more deserving of it than us.
“With this affliction, I extend my deepest condolences to Rayan’s family, and I ask God to grant them patience and solace.
“And I have decided, in my name and my family’s name, and in the name of all Moroccans and Muslims, to help and bring a little joy to Rayan’s family, his parents and his brothers and give them a fully equipped house.
“We ask God to accept us and make it in the balance of the good deeds of all Muslims.
“This is help from a brother to you and God’s mercy.”
It comes after Rayan’s devastated parents were given a guard of honour.
Speaking after the news of the boy’s death his aunt Atiqua Awram told local media: “My nephew, my heart is aching for him, too much. May God be with him, just like how God stood with us.”
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI sent his condolences to Rayan’s family, praising both rescue crews and the local community for their brave efforts in recent days, while the hashtag #SaveRayan trended on Twitter.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron also paid tribute, writing on Facebook late on Saturday: “Tonight, I want to tell the family of little Rayan and the Moroccan people that we share their pain.”