Rescuers hampered by rocky terrain in bid to free trapped toddler

An entire country is on tenterhooks over the fate of a two-year-old boy - who fell down a hole in what’s every parent’s worst nightmare.

Rescuers in southern Spain have revealed that the frantic effort to reach a two-year-old boy who fell into a narrow, deep borehole a week ago has again been slowed by difficult terrain.

Provincial authorities said that a drill used to create a vertical shaft parallel to the waterhole has hit a rocky patch.

There has been no contact made with Julen Rosello, who fell into the 110-metre-deep shaft a week ago during a family meal in the countryside northeast of Malaga.

Jose Rosello (left), father of Julen who fell down a well, cries as rescue efforts continue to find the boy in Totalan in southern Spain. Picture: AFP

At just 25 centimetres wide, the borehole is too narrow for adults to enter.

The only sign of the toddler search-and-rescue teams have found so far is hair that matched his DNA inside the hole.

Rescuers hope to find him at a depth of 72 metres, where a soil blockage has hampered efforts to go deeper.

A specially-made cage has arrived at the site, ready to lower mining rescue experts down the shaft. The experts then hope to dig a horizontal tunnel to the spot where they believe the boy is trapped in the borehole.

MORE: Dad of trapped toddler ‘won’t give up’

At just 25cm wide, the hole is too narrow for adults to fit down. Picture: Fire Department handout

Angel Garcia, the leading engineer co-ordinating the search-and-rescue operation, said on Saturday that the horizontal tunnel would take at least another 20 hours to excavate.

Mr Garcia had said they had hoped to reach the boy some time on Sunday local time, though that depends on everything “going favourably.”

Mr Garcia said a drill is perforating a hole, after which two or three experts will be lowered in a cage so they can begin digging a horizontal tunnel to the location where they believe the toddler is.

Rescue workers continue efforts to find the boy. Picture: AFP

People across Spain have been gripped by the plight of the boy and his family, as the rescue attempt has suffered agonising delays due to the rocky terrain.

“We are hopeful that we can get to him as soon as possible and bring him to his parents,” Mr Garcia said.

Two girls hold drawings bearing hearts and messages of support for the little boy. Picture: AFP