MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Another Rayan? Afghan boy Haider, 9, trapped in 33ft well for 48 hours

Rescuers are 'racing against time' to save Haider's life to prevent a repeat of the tragic circumstances that took the life of the Moroccan boy Rayan

Rescuers in Afghanistan are putting in their best efforts to save a terrified boy stuck at a depth of 33 ft inside a well for two whole days. Locals have identified the nine-year-old boy as "Haider". Rescuers have been digging non-stop to save the boy who is wedged inside of the well in an effort that they are calling a "race against time".

The incident occured in Sholok Village, located in the Zabul province in southern Afghanistan. Videos shared on social media by officials of Afghanistan's new Taliban government shows the boy, Haider, wedged in the well, somewhat able to move his arms and upper body. The little boy can be heard crying in terror and pain in the video. His situation is very similar to the Moroccan boy Rayan who died in an underground well shaft even as rescuers burrowed to get to him.

READ MORE 

Rayan Awram funeral: Hundreds join burial of Moroccan boy who died trapped in a deep well

How did Rayan Awram die? Moroccan boy STUCK in underground well for days brought out dead

In videos shared of Haider, the boy's father is heard talking to his son. "Are you okay my son?" his father can be heard saying in the video. "Talk with me and don't cry, we are working to get you out." "Okay, I'll keep talking," the boy replies in a plaintive voice. Rescuers had reached a camera down to the boy with the help of a rope in order to communicate with him. 

The shaft that the boy is stuck in is actually 82ft deep but the boy seems to be stuck at 33ft. "A team is there with an ambulance, oxygen and other necessary things," tweeted Abdullah Azzam, secretary to Deputy Prime Minister Abdulghani Barada. Rescuers were digging an open slit trench from an angle at the surface to try to reach the point where the boy is trapped.

Rayan, the 5-year-old Moroccan boy, was in a similar situation and was trapped underground for four days. Attempts to save the boy took too long and when the rescuers finally got to him, he was already dead. Rayan Awram's dead body was pulled to the surface as the country mourned his end.

Rescuers are still trying their best to get to Haider and save him before time runs out.