RESCUE efforts are underway to save a two-year-old boy who has fallen down a 110-metre (350ft) well in Spain.
The toddler, named Yulen, slipped into the opening during a family outing to countryside in the province of Málaga at around 2pm (1pm GMT) on Sunday afternoon.
The search began minutes later and continued overnight at Dolmen Cerro de la Corona just outside Totalán, a village set in hills around 22km (14 miles) north-east of Málaga city centre.
Yulen cried out when he first fell but he has not been heard from since the initial fall.
A camera lowered into the well – which is just 25cm (10 inches) wide – found the child's bag of sweets and a plastic cup approximately 78m down in wet sand, according to Spanish media.
This poor 2 year old boy Yulen. Sending love to his parents, in hope that he is rescued immediately 💔 - Huge rescue attempt after boy falls down 100‑metre well in Spainhttps://t.co/lSqJGFbWTY
— Maajid - (Mājid) [maːʤɪd] ماجد (@MaajidNawaz) 14 January 2019
The hole is too narrow for an adult to squeeze down, so emergency services plan to carefully drill a parallel tunnel as part of their rescue operation.
Firefighters and police have already inserted tubing to shore up the well, which was dug to get water.
A spokesperson for the Spanish Government in the region, María Gámez, confirmed that rescues do not know if the boy is still alive.
"No one is technically prepared to rescue someone from such a narrow hole," she added.
"However, the technology exists to get into places as narrow and deep as this, and everything is being considered."
Local newspapers reported that the family had suffered tragedy two years ago when Yulen's older brother, Oliver, died suddenly of a heart attack aged just three.
Civil Guard spokesman Bernardo Moltó explained that the rescue operation has been made particularly difficult as earth from the walls of the well has been dislodged and may have covered the youngster.
