7 years old child 'mimicking' Rayan dies in well northwestern Morocco

After the tragic death of Rayan, the 5-year-old who fell into a dry well in the town of Chefchaouen, another child aged 7 lost his life on February 7, after falling into a well 40 meters deep in the Tifelt region.

The child Khalid, suffering from Down syndrome, was retrieved alive from the well. He was rushed to a local hospital and received emergency treatment, but succumbed to his injuries due to the fall.

Khalid was able to be retrieved due to the well being much wider in diameter than the one Rayan fell into.

According to Hespress AR sources, the child was “mimicking Rayan along with his friends, who were all playing in the proximity of the well.”

The traditional well was dug not far from the family home and is still active, used as one of the main water sources in the village.

The locals regularly use it to supply themselves with drinking water, reports local website Tifelt Press. The Royal Gendarmerie, civil protection, and local authorities went to the scene to extract the child from the well.

The child’s body was transferred to the morgue of the regional hospital of Khemisset. A judicial investigation under the supervision of the competent prosecutor’s office was opened to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy.

Experts warn that children between the ages of 5 and 8 are most vulnerable to such tragedies, due to their inability to comprehend, distinguish and understand the true dangers of such play.

The hyper-mediatization of the Rayan tragedy is causing a lot of trauma and confusion in children of this particular age group, as many parents are taking to social media to point to their children’s “grief and affected mental health” following the incident.

Civil society actors are also trying to raise the awareness of parents and communities in rural Morocco, to be more vigilant with childrens’ access to wet and dry wells, and to ensure proper safety measures to avoid such fatal accidents.