Pope Francis thanks Morocco for efforts to try to save boy trapped in well

Vatican City, Feb 6 (EFE).- Pope Francis Sunday thanked Moroccan authorities for its relentless efforts to try to save a five-year-old boy who had been trapped inside a deep well for five days.

The boy, named Rayan, was officially declared dead shortly after rescuers retrieved his body from the 32-meter-deep well Saturday night.

“In Morocco, an entire people worked to save a child, Rayan. Thank you to these people for their witness,” the pontiff said during his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Francis added that the rescuers “tried everything, unfortunately, they did not make it,” noting that the way hundreds of villagers rallied to save the child was an example.

Rayan fell into the well, located near his family home in Ighran village in the northern mountainous city of Chefchaouen on Tuesday, prompting a massive digging operation amid messages of solidarity and concern worldwide.EFE

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