Afghan boy trapped in well for three days dies

A boy trapped for three days down a well in a remote Afghan village has died, according to several officials.

The child called Haidar, slipped to the bottom of a well being dug in Shokak on Tuesday, a drought-ravaged village in Zabul province, some 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of the capital, Kabul.

Rescuers worked non-stop to save the boy, believed to be aged five, including by digging an open slit trench from an angle at the surface to try to reach the point where he was trapped.

Officials on Friday morning said, Haidar was still alive but they later announced he had died.

Anas Haqqani, senior adviser at the Taliban-run interior ministry said, “With great sorrow, young Haidar is separated from us forever.”

Zabul police spokesman Zabiullah Jawhar said before the announcement of the boy’s death, “The rescue team has faced a new obstacle and a rock is preventing them from digging more. We are concerned that dust could fall on the boy, and probably we would lose him, so we are working carefully.”

The boy’s grandfather, 50-year-old Haji Abdul Hadi said, “Haidar fell down the well when he was trying to help the adults dig a new borehole in the parched village.”

Officials said the boy slipped to the bottom of the 25-metre (80-feet) shaft, but was pulled by rope to about 10 metres before becoming stuck.

Kamila/Al-Jazeera