Hundreds of citizens paid their last respects in Morocco to a Moroccan boy who died on Saturday after several days of efforts to rescue him from a well. This case caused a huge public reaction in Morocco, but also abroad.
As reported by N1, five-year-old Rajan Avram fell into a well in the village of Ighran on Tuesday. His body was finally recovered late Saturday after rescuers dug out much of a neighboring hill and then tunnelled to the bottom of the well.
Hundreds of mourners climbed the hilly, unpaved road leading to the cemetery in Igran, near Chefchaouen in northern Morocco, where they waited for hours for the funeral to observe Muslim burial rituals.
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"I am over 50 years old and I have never seen so many people at a funeral. Rajan is the son of all of us," said one villager.
There were so many mourners that not all of them could fit in the village cemetery and place of prayer. Two large tents were erected in front of the house of the bereaved family where the mourners could stop to express their condolences.
"Rajan's death has renewed faith in humanity as people in different languages and from different countries express solidarity," said another local.
On Saturday, King Mohammed VI, Pope Francis, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid AL Maktoum and other dignitaries sent their condolences to the parents.
Egyptian and Senegalese football players observed a minute of silence on Sunday before the start of the final of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.
Rescuers worked continuously at the constant risk of triggering a landslide in their ultimately unsuccessful effort to get the child out alive.
"I am very sad. We spared no effort to reach the boy alive," volunteer-digger Ali Sahraui told reporters at the funeral.
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