THE heartbroken parents of a five-year-old boy who died after being pulled from a 100ft well have been given a guard of honour.
Little Rayan Awram spent more than 100 hours trapped in the pitch black, 18-inch space in Morocco.
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Rescuers form a guard of honour for Rayan's parents Credit: AP 9
The youngster was brought out of the well wrapped in a blanket and taken straight to an ambulance Credit: Twitter 9
The moment a team carried the five-year-old out on a stretcher Credit: Reuters
Desperate rescuers launched an astonishing effort to free the youngster and he was finally pulled free last night.
But tragically Morocco's king confirmed shortly after Rayan had died from his injuries.
His devastated parents were last night given a guard of honour by brave rescuers after their son's body was recovered.
Rayan's dad, who was repairing the well at the time of the accident, previously expressed his hopes the youngster would pull through.
He said: "I keep up hope that my child will get out of the well alive. I thank everyone involved and those supporting us in Morocco and elsewhere."
His tearful mum Wassima Kharchich added: "The whole family went out to look for him then we realised that he'd fallen down the well.
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"I pray and beg God that he comes out of that well alive and safe. Please God, ease my pain and his, in that hole of dust."
Speaking after Rayan's death was confirmed on Saturday his aunt, Atiqua Awram told local media: "My nephew, my heart is aching for him, too much. May God be with him, just like how God stood with us."
A huge rescue effort was launched after Rayan fell down the 100ft well on Tuesday while playing in his home village Ighrane in Chefchaouen province.
Rayan's dad was repairing the well at the time and said he took his eyes off him for just a moment.
Crews lowered a camera, oxygen and water down a rope to reach the stricken youngster during the rescue but it is not known if he was able to use them.
Heartbreaking photos showed him bleeding at the bottom of the shaft.
His plight gripped people around the world with #SaveRayan trending on social media.
The rescue bid was hampered by the narrowness of the space Rayan had fallen in as no adult could reach him.
Widening the shaft was also deemed too risky in case it collapsed and buried him alive.
Bulldozers eventually cleared a space 100ft deep before gently clearing a 10ft tunnel horizontally to Rayan.
But the efforts were hampered by the delicateness of the situation as any vibrations from drilling could collapse brittle soil on the child.
Teams finally reached Rayan 96 hours after his fall as rescuers formed a human chain between the site and an ambulance to ferry Rayan out of the tiny space.
Cheers rang out at the site as Rayan - wrapped in a yellow blanket - was carried to a waiting ambulance.
But their joy was short-lived after the tragedy was revealed.
The case has echoes of little Julen Rosello, two, who fell down a 250ft well shaft near Malaga, Spain, in January 2019.
Rescuers dug two tunnels in an effort to save him, but finally they found him dead after 13 days.
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Both Rayan's mum and dad had expressed hopes their son would make it Credit: Getty 9
Rescuers lowered water and oxygen 100ft down the narrow shaft 9
The tragic news was confirmed by Morocco's king Credit: Reuters 9
The youngster plunged to the bottom of an 100-foot shaft in Chefchaouen, Morocco 9
The rescue mission took days amid fears the well could collapse Credit: AFP 9
Photos from the scene show the scale of the effort to rescue Raylan Credit: AP