Worldwide outpouring of support as hundreds attend funeral for boy, 5, who died in well
Hundreds of mourners gathered to pay their final respects to the Moroccan boy who died on Saturday after a four-day effort to rescue him from a well that sparked an outpouring of support from millions around the world.
Five-year-old Rayan Awram fell into the well in Ighran village on Tuesday. Rescuers excavated much of an adjacent hillside and then tunnelled toward the bottom of the 100ft deep well.
Rayan's body was finally pulled out late on Saturday evening, to the devastation of his parents, rescuers, and thousands of people watching around the world.
The boy’s parents visited the scene of the dig. His father said: “We want to thank all the people who have helped us. They authorities and everyone, many thanks to them.
“Praise god, may he have mercy on the dead."
His mother said: “This was destined for us, praise God. I thank you all for everything, praise God.”
Hundreds of mourners today climbed the unpaved road leading to the cemetery in Ighran, near Chefchaouen in northern Morocco, where they waited for hours for the funeral to observe the Muslim burial rituals.
“I am over 50-years-old and never seen as many people in a funeral. Rayan is the son of us all,” one villager said.
“Rayan’s death has renewed faith in humanity as people in different languages and from different countries express solidarity,” another villager said.
Even the Pope acknowledged the rescue effort saying it was "beautiful" to see how many tried to rescue him.
He expressed thanks to the Moroccan people as he greeted the public in St Peter's Square on Sunday. He praised people for "putting their all" into trying in vain to save the child.
Morocco's royal palace said on Saturday night, shortly after Rayan was pulled out of the 32-metre deep well, that he had died.
Pope Francis said that amid the world's bad news, it was "beautiful" how Morocco's people rallied for Rayan in a rescue operation that captured the world's attention.
"We're used to seeing, reading in the media, so many ugly things, ugly news, accidents, killings," the pontiff said.
But it was "beautiful" how, in Morocco, an entire people clung to one another in a bid to save Rayan, Francis said.
On Saturday night, King Mohammed VI also hailed the rescuers for their relentless work and the community for lending support to Rayan's family.
Hundreds of villagers and others had gathered to watch the rescue operation in the village of Ighran in Morocco's mountainous northern Chefchaouen province. The child had been trapped in the narrow well since the evening of February 1.
Rayan's plight struck a sad chord in Italy. In 1981, a six-year-old boy fell into a narrow well in the countryside outside Rome, eventually plunging 60 meters.
Volunteers heard him cry as they dug down in parallel in what ended as a futile three-day bid to save him. Hundreds of people gathered around the rescue site and millions watched the efforts on state TV.