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Rabat – Afghani authorities declared that a boy trapped in a well has died after 70 hours of rescue operations.
The boy, named Haidar, slipped into a 25-meter well on February 15 while helping his adult relatives dig a new borehole in the Shokak village in Zabul province, 400 kilometers from Kabul.
Authorities tried to pull the boy out by rope, but he was stuck 10 meters below the surface. Soon after the start of rescue operations, Taliban authorities and local journalists took to social media to share the developments.
As photos and videos of the rescue operations have circulated online, netizens and journalists quickly recalled the similar and recent story of 5-year-old Rayan.
Assumed to be a 9-year-old, Haidar’s story has attracted the attention of international media.
Yet the media coverage for the two very similar stories was not the same. Afghani investigative journalist Bismellah Pashtonml wrote in a tweet, “#RAYAN’s screams shocked the world but Haidari’s screams are not heard.”
Entering the second day of rescue operations, Pashtonml took to Twitter updating the public. He wrote “45th hour of Afghan child in the well, his voice is silent, rope torn and head injured.”
As Haidar’s situation gradually raised national and international concerns, Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid and Ministry of Interior representative Anas Haqqani visited the site, the Taliban Times reported in a tweet, adding that the ministers “oversaw the operation.”
Still, on the second day of operations, Haidar’s father was able to communicate with his trapped son, according to a video recorded by rescuers.
The video shows the position of the 9-year-old boy inside the well. In an exchange with his son, Haidar’s father said “Are you okay my son? Talk with me and don’t cry, we are working to get you out” then Haidar replied, “okay, I will keep talking.”
As of Friday morning, the third day, officials stated that Haidar was alive. A few hours later, healthcare professionals pronounced the 9-year-old Haidar dead following his rescue. Upon his retrieval, the medical staff, waiting on site, tried to save the boy but failed.
Just like Rayan’s tragedy, a rock delayed the rescue operation of the Afghani boy. Zabul police spokesman Zabiullah Jawhar said, “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.”
Read Also: A Timeline of Rayan’s Rescue Operation
After the tragic news emerged, senior Taliban officials described Haidar’s death as a “tragedy” for Afghanistan.
“Sadly baby Haidar was separated from us forever. Our country today is again the host of a great tragedy,” Anas Haqqani, senior adviser at the Taliban-run interior ministry tweeted.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior reported that it “tried its best to save Haidar but unfortunately he was martyred,” adding that “the Islamic Emirate extends its deepest condolences to the family of Haidar and the Islamic Emirate and the entire nation shares in their grief.”
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan Ahmadullah Wasiq also commented on Haidar’s death, saying “My tears are in my eyes. The screams are in Haidar’s ears.”
Globally, multiple international news outlets have covered the story including the Guardian, Al Jazeera, France 24, TRT World, and New York Post.
All news stories recalled Rayan’s rescue operation, noting the similarities between the two rescue operations as the two boys came from small unknown villages facing drought. Their stories shook their countries and the world to different degrees but succeeded to gain the empathy of thousands if not millions worldwide.
While Rayan’s case has mobilized Moroccan authorities to fight against illegal wells in the country, the Taliban’s approach to the issue is yet to be discovered.
