Rescuers began what they called the most delicate stage of a days-long effort to save a small boy trapped in a well in northern Morocco on Saturday after removing much of a hillside to approach him.
By Saturday evening, mechanical diggers and workers by hand had reached within a meter of where 5-year old Rayan Awram was located at the bottom of a 32-metre (100-foot) deep well in the hills near Chefchaouen and were tunneling towards him.
"Rescuers are in the tunnel... this is the most delicate stage," said lead rescuer Abdelhadi Thamrani, speaking to reporters at the scene.
Any wrong move as the rescuers attempt to cut through the last narrow section of rock and earth could trigger a landslide, and Thamrani said they were moving very cautiously.
Rayan fell into the disused well on Tuesday and pictures on Moroccan media have shown him huddled at the bottom. The well narrows as it descends from 45 cm (18 inches) wide at the top, preventing rescuers from descending.
Thamrani said it was difficult to determine how the child was faring because a camera that has been dropped down the well showed him lying on his side, but he added "we hope we will rescue him alive".
The effort to save Rayan has gripped people across Morocco and crowds gathered in a vigil around the well in the village of Ighran to watch the rescue effort. Many others were following the saga on television in households and cafes across the country.
"National and international solidarity with Rayan has reinforced our feeling of human solidarity," said Hicham Aanaji, a resident of Rabat watching a live feed of the rescue effort.
DIFFICULT WORK
Earlier, workers in helmets and high-visibility vests carried stretchers, ropes, tackle and other equipment down into the trench they dug parallel to the well.
The latest stage of the rescue has involved digging a horizontal tunnel from the trench towards Rayan's location, and Thamrani said they were only about 80 cm (30 inches) from him.
The rescuers placed concrete and steel pipes into the tunnel as they dig to allow them to pull Rayan to safety.
"People who love us are sparing no effort to save my child," said the child's father in a tired, barely audible voice, as he stood watching rescue efforts on Friday night, wearing a traditional hooded woolen robe against the cold.
"We pray this will be the day of his rescue," he said.
A male relative of the boy told Reuters TV that the family had first realized he was missing when they heard muffled crying and lowered a phone with its light and camera on to locate him.
"He was crying 'lift me up'," the relative said.
The hilly region around Chefchaouen is bitterly cold in winter and though food has been lowered to Rayan, it was not clear whether he has eaten any. He has also been supplied with water and oxygen using a tube.