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The world’s eyes are on Spain as efforts to rescue a two-year-old boy who fell down a well enter the fifth day. Julen Rosello was out with his parents, who were preparing a picnic on Sunday, January 13, when he fell screaming into a nearly 350 foot deep and 10 inch wide hole in the country city of Málaga. Hundreds of rescue workers have been deployed to the area, where they have worked around the clock for the last four days to reach the toddler.
Julen Rosello, a two-year-old boy, fell down a well in Spain Photo: Getty Images
On Thursday, January 17, first responders noted that the operation would be slowed due to rocks and other challenging terrain that surround the area. “We are working from both sides and we’ll see who gets there first,” Juan Escobar, mining engineer working the rescue said during a press conference, according to NBC. “Without time to do a preview study of the area, we will face difficulties. The most important thing here is to be able to get close to the boy.”
Julen's father, Jose, said that he and his wife are hoping for a miricle Photo: Getty Images
A day prior to the conference, it was announced that hair found in mud that was removed from the site was confirmed to belong to Julen, after a preliminary DNA test. The young boy's bag of candy was also pulled from 240 feet beneath the earth. Rescue efforts included digging a parallel well and an additinoal hole to open another access route. Famous specialists have been brought in from Spain’s coal mining region, Asturias. The Swedish company that provided assistance to help save the 33 Chilean miners that were trapped underground for two months in 2010 have also been dispatched.
Still, the world watches as neighbors and Julen’s heartbroken parents hold out hope for a miracle. “My wife is broken. We are dead inside,” Jose Rosello, Julien’s father said during a press conference. The parents, whose first son passed away at the age of three after heart complications, believe in a miracle. “We hope we have an angel to get my son out of there,” he continued.”
The world and neighbors have shown support, as the resuce efforts go into their fifth day Photo: Getty Images
The attention focused on the the rescue brings to mind the 12 boys and their soccer coach who were saved, after being trapped in a cave in Thailand, in 2017. Julen’s case is also similar to that of Jessica McClure, who was 18-months-old when she fell down a well in Texas in 1987. The toddler was trapped for 58 hours, until workers were able to pull her out. Although she was covered in dirt, she was found otherwise healthy.