Authorities in Morocco have launched an operation to identify all abandoned or clandestine wells and punish owners in the country, after Little Rayan’s death.
The Moroccan Ministry of Equipment will identify all abandoned or illegal wells following little Rayan’s death, who fell to the bottom of a well, and will punish offenders, the MAP agency reported on Thursday.
“So that the tragedy of the Rayan child does not happen again, the minister in charge has given strict instructions to the directors of the Hydraulic Basin Agencies to carry out a complete census of abandoned wells,” said Abdelaziz Zerouali, responsible for Ministry of Equipment, in an interview with MAP.
“In the event of non-compliance with the procedures, the competent Agency will secure the abandoned wells at the expense of the offender, with the possibility of legal proceedings,” he warned.
Little Rayan’s Death:
Rayan, a 5-year-old boy who accidentally fell to the bottom of a cramped and dry well in the north of the country, was extracted on Saturday dead, despite the relentless efforts of rescuers deployed for five days. The drama had caused considerable emotion, amplified by social networks, in Morocco and around the world.
Following the Petit Rayan accident, a debate arose around the proliferation and dangerousness of clandestine and unsecured wells. A majority deputy, Noureddine Moudiane, urged the authorities to “put an end to the random drilling of wells which often is not subject to the legal procedures in force”, according to the local press.
If the drilling of wells in the kingdom is subject to a permit, there is no “exact data” on the number of clandestine and abandoned wells, conceded Abdelaziz Zerouali, specifying that nearly 1,000 reports per year are drawn up for offenses related to illicit drilling, AFP reports.
The report by AFP also stated that the tragedy of little Rayan had been followed by 1.7 billion Internet users for 4 days, identified the Observatory of digital public opinions, quoted on Tuesday by the Medias24 site.
A sign of the global impact of this tragedy, Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it had “filled in and fortified” nearly 2,500 abandoned wells in the country. She had not specified the technical means implemented to reach this substantial figure.