The body of a 10-year-old boy has been recovered from a well in Algeria's western province of el-Bayadh, the country's civil protection agency said on Saturday, ending a four-day rescue operation that had captivated the nation.

The boy, identified as Ayoub, fell into the dry well on Wednesday while walking home in the village of Errokn. He stepped on a wooden board covering the well opening, which gave way, plunging him into the shaft approximately 80 meters (262 feet) deep and only 40 centimeters (15.75 inches) in diameter.

Rescue teams were unable to descend into the narrow well, so they dug a parallel shaft to reach the boy through a horizontal passage. The operation, involving heavy machinery and technical experts, was hampered by loose soil and hard rock layers, officials said.

Authorities in el-Bayadh formed a crisis response unit under provincial governor Noureddine Belarbi, involving civil protection, security, and military personnel. Large crowds of residents gathered near the site over the following days to follow the operation and offer support to the family.

Ayoub's death has revived public debate in Algeria over the safety of unsecured wells in rural areas, with commentators questioning the lack of regulation covering such structures, particularly in isolated regions.

The case recalled the 2018 death of a young man who fell into a 100-meter (328-foot) well in Msila province, where a rescue operation lasted nine days, and the widely followed 2022 case of Moroccan toddler Rayan, who died after falling into a 32-meter (105-foot) well and being trapped for more than 100 hours in an operation that drew global attention.

Source: www.aljazeera.com