{
  "id": 5523433,
  "title": "Another Rayan in Algeria? Race to save 10-year-old boy trapped in 80-metre well",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/04/another-rayan-in-algeria-race-to-save-10-year-old-boy-trapped-in-80",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-04T08:08:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/world/africa/another-rayan-in-algeria-race-to-save-10-year-old-boy-trapped-in-80-metre-well-1.500663044"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A 10-year-old boy, Ayoub, is trapped in a 80-metre deep, narrow well in south-western Algeria. The accident occurred when Ayoub, delivering lunch to his older brother, fell through a wooden board covering the well's opening. The well, traditionally dug, is just 40 centimetres wide and has no protective casing. The surrounding soil, dumped in up to 30 metres, makes direct descent extremely dangerous. Algerian Civil Protection teams have deployed specialist crews, heavy excavation equipment, and cameras to inspect the well. Due to the well's narrowness and unstable soil, rescuers have decided to dig a parallel shaft towards the boy's estimated location, aiming to create a horizontal passage for a safer rescue. This rescue operation began around midday on Wednesday, with crews working against time. The situation evokes memories of a similar incident in Morocco in 2022, where a Moroccan boy, Rayan, also fell into a narrow well and died after a five-day rescue operation.",
  "summary": "Dubai: A short journey to deliver lunch to his older brother turned into a race against time for 10-year-old Ayoub, who fell into a narrow, dry well in south-western Algeria. Ayoub had taken food to his brother, who was tending sheep, and was making his way back to his home in the village of Al Rokn, in El Ghassoul municipality, Brezina district, in El Bayadh province, when the accident happened.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}