Rescuers in southern Spain are racing against the clock to save a two-year-old boy who fell down a 100-metre deep well — after the discovery of his hair confirmed he was trapped inside. The boy, Julen Rosello, disappeared on Sunday when he wandered away while his parents prepared a countryside lunch near Totalan, a town northeast of Malaga, reports the New York Post. The parents — who in an especially tragic twist had a young son who died two years ago — suspected that Julen slipped down a narrow waterhole 25cm wide. The hair samples that rescuers took from soil inside the shaft confirmed their fears on Wednesday. “We had a perfect view of how he fell through the hole,” said dad Jose Rosello, according to BBC News. The Rosellos’ three-year-old son, Oliver, died in 2017 from heart problems during a family walk on their local beach. Mr Rosello said that he and his wife were “heartbroken” by the long wait. “It feels like we have been waiting for months,” he told reporters. “We are not going to give up … We have the hope that an angel is going to show up for my son to come out alive.” The government’s representative in the Malaga province, Maria Gamez, said DNA from Julen’s hair — which was compared to DNA from a bottle he drank out of — gave rescuers “scientific evidence that the minor is there.” But the little boy may be stuck in a deeper section than machinery and surveillance equipment have so far been able to reach. Hardened soil and rocks believed to have been dragged down when the boy fell have blocked workers from seeing beyond 70 metres into the hole. They have, however, spotted a small bag of lollies inside. Workers on Thursday were busy digging two tunnels — one parallel to the well and another at a horizontal angle aiming to reach him — and carefully removing soil from the main hole. They expected to be able to reach the deepest part within “24 to 48 hours.” Meanwhile, the boy’s frantic parents are holding out hope that they’ll see him again telling reporters that they are praying on a miracle he’ll come out alive. This story was originally published in the New York Post and is reprinted with permission.<doc-sep>Julen Rosello slipped into the well which had not been covered properly top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Julen Rosello slipped into the well which had not been covered properly in Malaga, Spain, last Sunday, triggering a desperate race against time to save him. The plan had initially been to drill a 147ft vertical tunnel to get to the little boy, with time being critical. A special drill was even taken from motorway workers to help with the rescue mission, with no time for an assessment to be done on the ground surrounding the well. But Angel Garcia, the engineer helping to coordinate the operation, said the had been delayed due to the unexpected amount of hard rock beneath the ground where the little boy lies. Police attempt to rescue two-year-old boy from well in Spain Rescuers will now not complete the mission until midnight on Wednesday. Mr Garcia said: “Right now it's as if Julen was the child of us all.” The mission began with nine hours of preparation work with a small tunnel having been made with is big enough for two people and oxygen to fit inside. They hoped to find him at a depth of 236ft, but a soil blockage has got in the way. The blockage has also aroused suspicion Julen could be trapped in a separate hole at the very bottom of the well. Emergency services and Julen’s parents Jose Rosello and Vicky Garcia are still clinging to the hope the toddler is alive. Mr Rosello and Ms Garcia, both 29, are staying nearby in a house lent to them by a good samaritan after being asked to leave the hillside five days ago for their own safety. Mr Rosello said the well was made by a minerals miner at the request of another family member to search for water. It was supposed to have been sealed but the top of it had simply been covered with stones. He also recalled the moment he was making lunch and realised his son had fallen down it. Rescuers will now not complete the mission until midnight on Wednesday Mr Rosello said: “My cousin was a bit nearer and threw herself on the ground as I reached the orifice. “He had already gone. I heard him cry at first but then I didn't hear him cry anymore. “My wife went to phone into work to let them know she wasn't going. “She was with Julen and asked me to keep an eye on him as she made the call. “He was only a few feet away. “I went to get a couple of logs for the fire for the paella and he began to run.”<doc-sep>Rescue efforts to find a two-year-old boy trapped in a well in southern Spain have hit a major snag, it's emerged. Engineers dug a parallel shaft alongside the well and they were hoping to dig across to get to the toddler on Tuesday. But they now admit they will have to widen the shaft before they can begin digging the horizontal passage. The child, identified as Julen, fell into the 25-centimetre-wide hole as his family walked through a private estate in Totalan, Malaga, on January 13. Euronews Juan Lopez Escobar, an engineer in the rescue team, told Euronews the drilling is taking place "with many difficulties due to the characteristics of the terrain”, he said. In a tweet on Monday afternoon, Spain’s Civil Guard shared a “message of encouragement” for the rescue teams. Satellite images Satellite images captured by the Copernicus, the EU’s observation programme, have revealed the extent of the rescue efforts. Comparing images from January 14 and 19, it is clear to see how the area cleared for the rescue efforts has expanded. Medical outlook Paediatricians told Euronews on Monday that severe dehydration poses the most significant risk to the child after more than one week in the well. However, Manuel Baca, head of Pediatrics of Quirónsalud Málaga hospital, said Julen’s chance of survival is improved by his age. "Children are more resistant in almost everything. What a newborn is capable of supporting in the birth canal, an adult could not stand. Children have an organism that is very adapted to survive under any circumstance," he said. He added that it was possible that Julen had entered a state of “semi-coma”, where his body would need to consume less. Others, meanwhile, were less optimistic about Julen’s chances of survival.<doc-sep>
TOTALÁN, Spain — Rescuers in southern Spain began drilling on Saturday in hopes of rescuing a 2-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for six days. The mission to save the child has triggered an outpouring of public support as rescuers struggle with the challenge of bringing heavy equipment up steep access roads and reaching the toddler safely. “We are incredibly motivated to reach him as soon as possible. We’re not bothered by the hours, the tiredness or the lack of sleep," Angel Vidal, the lead engineer overseeing the rescue, said on Saturday. "We are hopeful that we will reach him as soon as possible and bring him back to his parents,” he added. The boy, Julen, fell into the borehole, which is just 25 cm (10 inches) wide and 100 meters (yards) deep, as his family walked through a private estate in Totalán, Málaga. A worker directs a pipe as part of excavation works to rescue two-year old boy Julen, who is believed to be trapped inside a well, in the village of Totalan, Malaga, southern Spain on Jan. 19, 2019. Daniel Perez / EPA Officials have been unable to find signs of life but say they are working on the basis that the child is still alive. Video footage shot by firefighters and released by Spanish broadcaster Canal Sur shows a blockage around 70 meters into the well which has prevented rescue services from sending food or water to the child. Trucks brought drilling equipment and giant pipes to the site on Friday. Drilling of the first of two tunnels that will be made to reach the boy began at around 3 p.m. local time and will take around 15 hours, officials said. Once the first tunnel is completed, rescuers will begin working by hand to construct a second shorter tunnel to reach the area where the boy is trapped, which will take a further 20 hours. Residents of the town have held vigils for Julen and in support of his family. Spanish media say the boy's parents suffered another tragedy in 2017 when their three-year-old son died suddenly of health problems while walking along a beach. "Be strong, Julen. Totalán is with you," read a handmade banner hung on the roadside near the rescue site. "We are living some incredibly difficult hours for relatives, friends and neighbors (of the family) and we want to send them our support in this moment," government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa said on Friday in a news conference. (Reporting by Miguel Pereira; writing by Sam Edwards; editing by Jason Neely)