Miners recover body of trapped Spanish toddler

A desperate rescue mission to save a two-year-old boy who fell down a well has ended in heartache, with rescuers reaching him too late.

Parents of two-year-old Julen Rosello console each other. Picture: Jorge Guerrero/AFP

After a desperate rescue mission, emergency workers recovered the lifeless body of a two-year-old boy who fell down a well almost two weeks ago.

Spanish rescuers finally reached the child, Julen Rosello, today but tragically he was dead.

A government representative, Alfonso Rodriguez Gomez de Celis, confirmed the news via Twitter.

“At 1:25am, the rescue teams reached the area of the well where they were looking for Julen and they found the lifeless body of the little one.”

Julen’s parents (pictured) have kept vigil at the rescue site for the last 13 days. Picture: Jorge Guerrero

Parents of two-year-old Julen Rosello (centre) surrounded by relatives in Totalan. Picture: Jorge Guerrero

The toddler fell after wandering away from his parents, who were preparing a countryside lunch.

While playing in a mountainous area near the town of Totalan, northeast of Malaga, Julen stumbled into a deep borehole. He has been trapped since January 13.

The youngster reportedly cried out when he fell, but had not been heard from since.

Before finding his body, the authorities had confirmed that he was in the well with hair found in mud excavated from the well, which a preliminary DNA test confirmed belonged to the boy.

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Cranes and diggers used by rescue workers. Picture: Jorge Guerrero

A helicopter of the Spanish Guardia Civil was used to transport explosives to the site. Picture: Jorge Guerrero

Miners were almost in reach of the boy on Friday, and had been working around-the-clock to try reach him. His parents say he slipped down a narrow shaft as he was playing.

They now believe it to be an illegal well which is more than 100 metres deep but only 25 centimetres in diameter.

The well was unmarked at the time of the accident and regional authorities in Andalusia said the necessary permission had not been sought before it was dug.

The well Spanish toddler Julen Rosello was trapped in.

Prior to his rescue, a team of elite miners was deep underground in a specially-excavated shaft parallel to the well, painstakingly digging a four-metre tunnel to link both channels and hopefully reach Julen with the help of small, controlled explosions.

Despite being unable to find signs of life, the rescue team never lost the motivation to keep going.

“We’re not bothered by the hours, the tiredness or the lack of sleep,” said lead engineer Angel Vidal on January 20.

“We are hopeful that we will reach him as soon as possible and bring him back to his parents.”

Julen Rosello. Source: Facebook.

Julen’s distraught parents and relatives had maintained a constant vigil at the accident site.

“They are facing this final phase with great strength and have told me above all they have never lost hope,” their spokesman Juan Jose Cortes said yesterday.

— with AFP