Authorities spent the past two days working on multiple plans to get to the boy. (Representational) Out for an afternoon in the Spanish countryside, Julen's parents were preparing lunch when their 2-year-old slipped into a hole. They heard the toddler's echoing cries as he plummeted into darkness - more than 30 stories deep - then silence. That silence has consumed the country of 46 million people as a legion of rescuers contends with two crucial questions: How can they reach the 2-year-old? Is it already too late? The tragedy happened as the family of three - Julen, whose name has also been spelled "Yulen," and his parents, Jose Rosello and Vicky Garcia - was setting up for a paella picnic with friends in Totalan, a small town on the southern coast of Spain, according to Britain's Daily Express. Julen went into a possibly unmarked hole bored by someone searching for a spot to dig a well, authorities have said. The hole is 360 feet deep, but only 15 inches at its widest spot - big enough for a toddler to slip into, but not his parents or rescuers racing against a ticking clock. Videos and photos of the scene showed harness-wearing rescue worker crawling into the mouth of the hole, supported by a cable. On Monday, officials lowered a small robot into the hole. It recovered a bag of candy and a plastic cup the boy had been holding when he fell, but it was not able to capture any videos or sounds of the missing child. According to the Daily Mail, there is a blockage some 250 feet beneath the surface, perhaps caused by a mini landslide as the boy tumbled. At about that depth the hole gets slimmer, too small for even the robot to get past. Authorities spent the past two days working on multiple plans to get to the boy. They're trying to determine whether they can safely widen the hole, to let a robot, or possibly a rescuer, go deeper, Pilar Limon, a spokesman for the Emergencies Coordination Unit, told NBC. Authorities are also trying to determine whether they can dig a tunnel that intersects the well. They worry about unknown factors that lie beyond the reach of the camera's lens: a plug of sand atop water of an uncertain depth. Julen's parents, whose first son, Oliver, died of a reported congenital heart defect at the age of 3, join a reluctant fraternity of families cast into the glare of an international spotlight after their children were trapped below ground. In 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down a 22-foot hole in her grandmother's backyard in Midland, Texas, and was stuck for 58 hours before rescuers were able to pull her out of the 8-inch-wide hole. And last summer in Thailand, members of the Wild Boars soccer team - 12 boys, none of whom could swim and their 25-year-old coach - were rescued from a cave by divers who guided the boys between the ages of 12 and 16 through passages as narrow as a couple of feet. In Spain this week, Julen's parents, sequestered in a tent as they awaited news, were praying for his older brother to watch over him from heaven. "Oliver, don't forget your brother Julen," his mother wrote on social media, according to the Express. "You know we've been waiting for him for many hours. I know you protect him a lot, my little King." Later, she posted another picture of a sleeping baby: "If it's true that there's a God up there," she wrote, "help him please. "Hold on Julen."<doc-sep>(CNN) A two-year-old boy is the focus of a major rescue operation Monday, after falling into a 360-foot-deep well in the southern Spanish province of Málaga on Sunday afternoon. The toddler was in the countryside with his family near the village of Totalán when he fell into the well, Bernardo Moltó, spokesman for Málaga's Guardia Civil, told CNN. The well is only nine inches in diameter, Moltó said. Rescuers lowered a micro robot with cameras over 260 feet into the hole but were unable to locate the boy, he added. Rescuers have so far failed to locate the boy. "We haven't found or heard the child; that is why we are taking the time we need to take to find him," Moltó said. The rescue team will employ alternative strategies to retrieve the toddler, Moltó said, including digging deeper into the hole and creating a parallel shaft that could be connected with the well. Read More<doc-sep>A massive operation to locate and rescue a two-year-old boy who fell down a 350ft well on Spain's Costa del Sol has entered its third day today. Police said they had yet to find any sign of the youngster - bar a packet of sweets and a plastic cup in a blockage nearly 250ft down the tiny 10-inch wide hole. But officers insisted they would continue to search for him round-the-clock in the hope of finding and saving him. Specialist machinery has been brought in to 'suck' away the earth preventing emergency service responders from confirming Julen is beneath the blockage - thought to have been caused by a mini-landslide as he fell - and is still alive. The boy's distraught mother, Vicky Garcia, waited anxiously for an update at the scene yesterday This photo posted by local firefighters show the small 15in-wide hole Julen fell down on Sunday afternoon Overnight private sector experts began to install tubing in the uncased shaft on land near Totalan, a 30-minute drive north-east of Malaga, to prevent it collapsing. Officials admitted Julen's condition was unknown, with his loved ones clinging to the hope there was water and a pocket of air at the bottom of the well which could be keeping him alive despite a fall which has been described as the equivalent of 30 floors. The youngster's parents, whose three-year-old son Oliver died in May 2017 after suffering a heart attack believed to be linked to a congenital heart condition, continued to pray for a miracle from a tent at the scene where they have spent the past 40 hours since their son vanished. A massive rescue team are at the well with specialist equipment to 'suck' earth out of the well to reveal whether the boy is trapped underneath Tragedy: The two-year-old boy fell down the deep well on a countryside property in Malaga, Spain's Costa del Sol, while his parents were having lunch nearby Julen's fast food restaurant worker mum Vicky Garcia and his jobless dad, named locally as Jose Rosello, told police after they raised the alarm around 2pm on Sunday that he had fallen down the well shaft as they prepared a paella with friends during a family day out in the countryside. The youngster's grandmother Reme Garcia said she was confiding in his dead elder brother to protect him from Heaven in an emotional outpouring of grief. She wrote on social media in a heart-wrenching message to Oliver: 'Today all I ask is that your brother comes out now. He needs you. 'Oliver, don't forget your brother Julen. You know we've been waiting for him for many hours. I know you protect him a lot, my little King.' Early this morning in another post alongside a picture of a baby asleep in the arms of an adult, she added: 'If it's true that there's a God up there, help him please. Hold on Julen.' She also joined the little boy's mum in criticising an expert well-digger who claimed yesterday it was 'almost impossible' the youngster was in the well. Family members console each other yesterday as the rescue team worked round the clock to find the child Francisco Barranquero, owner of a Malaga-based prospection firm, appeared to cast doubt on his parents' version of events by telling a Spanish news website: 'I think it's very unlikely that little boy is there. Almost impossible. Either that or the search is not being done properly.' Insisting the shaft would not consist of a completely vertical drop and would include small deviations, he added: 'I've managed to recover hammers that have fallen down such small holes. 'Is it possible that a baby wouldn't end up getting stuck and might have reached the bottom? I say that's very difficult.' Mission: More than 100 firefighters and emergency workers in southern Spain are searching for the two-year-old Julen's angry gran raged: 'What s##t are you saying about my grandson? You have no feelings. All I ask is that you don't go to the spot where my daughter and family are.' The youngster's mother took time out of her 24/7 vigil near the spot where the boy was last seen to repeat what they had told police about hearing the boy cry when he first fell by adding: 'Shut up Francisco. You are the least appropriate person to be speaking about this. 'I heard my son cry and his father was talking to him and he heard him and cried again and now we can't hear him anymore.' Police have insisted their efforts are '100 per cent' focused on trying to locate and rescue Julen in the well, despite claims by Spanish news website El Confidencial Civil Guard investigators were working on a reconstruction of his fall 'to contemplate all options.' This morning's work was geared towards continuing to try to remove the blockage 250ft down the well while shoring up the shaft. It is not clear if there is water at the bottom of the hole, which was reportedly created last December by prospectors Two other options have also been considered, although neither has yet been launched. One involves creating another wider hole running parallel to the existing well which would be made slighter deeper and link to the first hole in a U-bend. The other involves excavating a horizontal tunnel an adult could fit into through the hillside to the spot where rescuers hope to eventually locate Julen. Officials have admitted both options could take at least two days to complete - and they ideally need to discover exactly where the youngster is first. Local reports have pointed to the land where the drama is unfolding being owned by relatives of the missing boy - with one saying an uncle made the hole to look for water in another tragic twist to the ongoing incident. Experts have said it is normal for prospections of this kind to take place - but the holes have to be covered up afterwards if nothing is found with a large stone which is usually sealed hermetically to stop anyone from removing it and avoid accidents like Sunday's.<doc-sep>Two-year-old Yulen fell down the 350ft well Sunday afternoon 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. The toddler, Julen, was on a walk with family when he wandered off and fell down the well in Totalán, Malaga. Sources from the emergency service 112 said the incident occurred at approximately 2:00pm and shortly after police received a call about Julen. The well was located on the property of family friends which Julen was spending Sunday with. The boy could initially be heard crying after he vanished down the hole. Spokesman for the Spanish Civil Guard Bernardo Moltó said no drilling has been done near the well. Though drilling is not ruled out, the spokesman said when Julen fell he would have caused a detachment in the well. A camera has been lowered into the well but has not caught any sounds or images of Julen. Approximately 100 people are taking part int he investigation including police and experts The provincial deputy with the fire brigade helping rescue efforts spoke of the “technical complexity” involved in the rescue operation. He said the well had no protection around it. The well was thought to have been covered in stones as protection but was removedly children playing in the same area. It is unknown whether there is any water in the bottom of the well, and the camera lowered into it could not go deeper than 255 ft. It has been reported the bag of sweets that Julen was carrying has been discovered. A spokesman for the Civil Guard said information about Julen’s fall had come from the family. The spokesman said: “The operation is going to continue as long as necessary. The boy’s father and a local emergency services coordination centre called police around the same time at 2pm to alert us what had happened.” Approximately 100 people are taking part in the investigation, including police, firefighters and experts. The well is too small for an adult to get into, with rescuers expected to make three attempts to try and reach the toddler. More specialist equipment has been requested to try and reach Julen. More specialist equipment has been requested to help the rescue efforts<doc-sep>
More than 100 Spanish firefighters, police officers and rescuers are searching for a two-year-old boy who fell down a deep borehole in Málaga province on Sunday afternoon. The boy, named Yulen, was out walking with his family when he fell down the hole, which is 110 metres deep and 25cm wide. He cried out when he fell but has not been heard from since. On Monday morning, rescuers came across a cup and a bag of sweets he was holding when he disappeared. The sweets were discovered in a layer of compacted, wet sand 78 metres down the borehole, which had been left uncovered. Rescuers have lowered a camera into the shaft but have yet to locate the boy. As the sides of the hole have not been shored up, they are trying not to do anything to provoke a collapse. The Spanish government’s representative in the region, María Gámez, said the rescue team was looking into “every technical possibility” given that the hole was too narrow for an adult to enter. “No one is technically prepared to rescue someone from such a narrow hole, but the technology exists to get into places as narrow and deep as this, and everything is being considered,” Gámez said. By midday on Monday, the team had removed 30cm of earth from the shaft. “It’s not just about getting down there, it’s also about keeping the hole open so that the rescue can happen,” Gámez added. Bernardo Moltó, a spokesman for the Málaga Guardia Civil, said the teams were trying to clear the layer of wet sand but were also looking into sinking a parallel shaft to locate and rescue Yulen. “So far, what we’ve managed to do is drill into that blockage a bit,” he said. “We’re going to try to clear the earth with a truck-mounted machine and try to dig a parallel tunnel, but to do that, we need to shore up the shaft to reach the boy.”