What's that Skippy?

[OwlHoot]

Now there's another kid stuck down a well. What is it with young boys and wells these days? Is it some new craze, like conkers?

2022-02-17 Race against time to save terrified Afghan boy, nine, trapped 33ft-down a well

[d000hg]

I imagine the main problem was that the well probably had several feet of cold damp mud at the bottom, which the kid would have been stuck quite deep in after dropping a hundred feet. So he would have been suffering from exposure, plus shortage of oxygen unless they pumped down fresh air.

I got the impression they could get everything to him he might need except a person. But at 5, he might not have been able to do what he needed. Can you imagine being the person on the surface sending him down things which will keep him alive, but unable to intervene? Everyone involved must be traumatised.

[OwlHoot]

Very sad. The way the story was initially reported it made it sound like it was really just a matter of time to get him out and start on the movie dramatisation but presumably his injuries were less slight than believed.

I imagine the main problem was that the well probably had several feet of cold damp mud at the bottom, which the kid would have been stuck quite deep in after dropping a hundred feet. So he would have been suffering from exposure, plus shortage of oxygen unless they pumped down fresh air.

[d000hg]

Very sad. The way the story was initially reported it made it sound like it was really just a matter of time to get him out and start on the movie dramatisation but presumably his injuries were less slight than believed.

[vetran]

Sadly not

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...rapped-in-well

sadly so, they did try very hard so respect to them.

[ladymuck]

Hope he gets out OK.

Sadly not

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...rapped-in-well

[Zigenare]

Seriously, I don't understand why they couldn't have just lowered a grappling hook tied to a fibre optic drain inspection cable with a camera on the end and just grabbed the boy and hauled him up. I suppose it depends how he was trapped at the bottom, maybe stuck deep in mud and unable to use his arms.

But as I suggested before, a midget or other small kid tied by the feet and lowered down to tie a rope round the boy would have been even better. I mean it was only a hundred feet deep, hardly the Gouffre Berger.

Oh dear... https://www.lpaonline.org/the-m-word

[hobnob]

Seriously, I don't understand why they couldn't have just lowered a grappling hook tied to a fibre optic drain inspection cable with a camera on the end and just grabbed the boy and hauled him up. I suppose it depends how he was trapped at the bottom, maybe stuck deep in mud and unable to use his arms.

But as I suggested before, a midget or other small kid tied by the feet and lowered down to tie a rope round the boy would have been even better. I mean it was only a hundred feet deep, hardly the Gouffre Berger.

With the grappling hook idea, it depends how it's attached. I wouldn't fancy holding onto a hook, knowing that if my hands slip then I'll fall back down. If it was hooked through his shirt, are you sure that the fabric would take the weight rather than ripping in half?

As for lowering someone else, it's worth noting the size of the hole. According to the BBC articles, it was 25cm at the top, which is the same as the longest edge on my iPad. The child who fell down was 5 years old, so the rescuer would need to be a similar age. There are ethical issues about putting another young child in danger, and practical issues about whether they'd have the dexterity to tie a rope or adjust a carabiner. (I think lots of 5 year olds would struggle to tie their own shoelaces.) An adult dwarf (e.g. Peter Dinklage) would probably still be too big to fit down the hole.

More generally, I think it's reasonable to assume that the rescuers on site would have considered these options. So, if they went with "operation dig a huge hole", knowing the time and expense involved, they probably had a good reason.

Sadly (as per another thread), the boy died after he was rescued:
Rayan: Moroccan boy trapped in well for four days dies - BBC News

[OwlHoot]

Seriously, I don't understand why they couldn't have just lowered a grappling hook tied to a fibre optic drain inspection cable with a camera on the end and just grabbed the boy and hauled him up. I suppose it depends how he was trapped at the bottom, maybe stuck deep in mud and unable to use his arms.

But as I suggested before, a midget or other small kid tied by the feet and lowered down to tie a rope round the boy would have been even better. I mean it was only a hundred feet deep, hardly the Gouffre Berger.

[vetran]

Hope he gets out OK.

[Paddy]

Reminds me of a poem about a lady who swallowed a fly.

I don't know why she swallowed a fly, Perhaps she'll die!

[SueEllen]

Lower another kid down in a bucket, like that boy in Moonfleet, to fish out the first one!

[d000hg]

Lower another kid down in a bucket, like that boy in Moonfleet, to fish out the first one!

Reminds me of a poem about a lady who swallowed a fly.

[OwlHoot]

Lower another kid down in a bucket, like that boy in Moonfleet, to fish out the first one!

[d000hg]

Morocco has been gripped by efforts to rescue a child who fell into a well near the northern city of Chefchaouen.

The child, who local media have identified as a five-year-old boy named Reyan, was reportedly accompanying his father who had been repairing the well when the accident occurred.

He is believed to have fallen to a depth of around 32m (104 ft).

Rescue operations, led by by Morocco's Civil Protection Directorate, have been ongoing since Tuesday afternoon.

Despite suffering a significant fall, footage from a camera lowered into the well showed that the boy remains alive and conscious, though he appeared to be suffering from some minor head injuries.

Fingers crossed. But perhaps a bad choice for "bring your kid to work day".