Moroccan Boy, 13, Dies After Falling into Abandoned Well, Sparking Safety Concerns

The boy fell into the well on Sunday in the Ait Bouamer area, near the suburb of Ait Baha, while playing with other children, reports Alyaoum24. Called, the rescue services arrived on the scene. They managed to get the teenager out alive, but he was in critical condition. The child was first rushed to the Bioukray hospital before being transferred to the Hassan II regional hospital in Agadir. On Monday morning, the boy succumbed to his injuries. The local authorities of Belfaa had already verbally and in writing requested the owner of the well to secure it due to the potential danger it posed to residents, but he did not comply, we are told. The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to shed light on this fatal fall.

After the death of Rayan, a 5-year-old boy who accidentally fell on February 1, 2022, at the bottom of a narrow, 32-meter-deep well dug near the family home in the village of Ighrane, in the northern province of Chefchaouen, Morocco has carried out a complete census of all abandoned or clandestine wells. The operation consisted of closing these wells or restoring them, in order to prevent any risk for the populations and the animals. The government also imposes drastic conditions for the construction of a well in the kingdom.

"Any person wishing to dig a well must submit a file on the available on the website of the water basin agency to which it is attached," said Abdelaziz Zerouali, director of water research and planning at the Ministry of Equipment and Water. After study and investigation by a specialized commission, the drilling authorization is granted if all the legal conditions required are met.