The rescue of the child trapped in a well in Spain reaches the most dangerous phase

Efforts to reach the two-year-old son who fell in a well in southern Spain started a week ago and are approaching their most dangerous phase, said a rescue team engineer on Monday.

The boy, Julen, fell into the well while his family was passing a private property in Totalán, Málaga, on January 13th. Since then there are no signs of life.

The miners dug a parallel tunnel day and night hoping to shorten the path so they can save it on Tuesday.

The work was slower on Sunday because the rescue team encountered harder materials during the drilling of the horizontal tunnel. One official said that there was a risk of further collapse.

"What remains is the most dangerous part for man," said Minas del Sur College of Engineers delegate, Juan Lopez Escobar, in Canal Sur.

In addition, he expressed his confidence in the rescue team, which he called "miners of elite, among the best in the world".

Rescue teams found that the well – 100 meters deep and 25 centimeters wide – was blocked by dirt, which made it fearful that the earth could fall on the child.

Monday morning, the rescue teams had drilled more than 50 meters, the depth was 60 meters, told reporters Angel Vidal, the chief rescue engineer.

Spanish miners and engineers joined the workers of a Swedish company that helped locate 33 Chilean miners saved after 69 days of hiding more than seven years ago.

Children and families have turned to night vigils throughout Spain to show their support for Julen.

The newspaper El País reported that their parents suffered another tragedy in 2017, when their 3-year-old son died suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest while walking on the beach.