Hundreds of people gathered today to bid farewell to the young Moroccan boy, who died on Saturday after days of efforts by authorities to rescue him from a well, a case that shocked the country and many abroad.
5-year-old Rayan fell down the well in the village of Igran on Tuesday. His body was recovered late Saturday after rescuers dug up most of an adjacent hillside and then opened a tunnel to the bottom of the well.
Hundreds of people climbed the hilly road leading to the cemetery in Igrán, near Sefsaouen, in northern Morocco, where they waited for hours for the funeral.
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"I'm over 50 years old and I've never seen so many people at a funeral. Rayan is everyone's son," said a local man.
The people who wanted to attend the funeral were so many that they could not fit in the village cemetery and prayer area. Two large tents were set up in front of the 5-year-old's family home, where anyone who wished could stop to offer their condolences.
"Rayan's death renewed faith in humanity as people of different languages and from different countries expressed solidarity," said another villager.
On Saturday, condolences to the parents were also expressed by King Mohammed VI, Pope Francis, French President Emmanuel Macron, Dubai leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and other personalities.
Egyptian and Senegalese footballers observed a minute's silence on Sunday before the start of the African Nations Cup final.
Rescuers worked tirelessly, facing the constant risk of causing a landslide in their last, fruitless attempts to bring the child back alive.
«Είμαι πολύ λυπημένος. We tried very hard to reach the child while he was alive. We dug 24 hours a day for five days, an operation that could have lasted weeks," a volunteer, Ali Shahrawi, told reporters on the sidelines of the funeral.
Source: Proto Thema
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