A laborer was branded a hero after it came to light he was digging with nothing but his hands for 20 hours in an attempt to rescue the trapped Moroccan boy.

On Tuesday, 5-year-old Rayan Awram from Ighran, Morocco, found himself trapped 105 feet beneath the surface after falling through a tiny opening of an old well.

The boy’s accident sparked a massive rescue operation involving dozens of people who first dug vertically and then horizontally in a bid to reach the boy without causing the soil above him to collapse and suffocate him.

On Saturday, four days after little Rayan fell into the hole, came to an end as the child’s body was pulled out to the surface. Unfortunately, the 5-year-old succumbed to his injuries and could not be resuscitated.

Following the bitter ending of the rescue effort, people have begun paying a tribute to the child and praising the rescuers for pushing themselves to the limit in an attempt to save the five-year-old.

One worker who received special praise was Bwa Sahraoui after it came to light that he dug using nothing but his hands for a total of three days and more than 20 hours.

“For more than 20 hours he dug tirelessly to get Rayan out of the ground. Huge respect,” one person wrote in a tribute to the hardworking man.

“May God reward this man and grant him a place in paradise. He has done an amazing job since last night, he digs by hand,” another said.

The third wrote: “Bwa Sahraoui is one of the volunteers who, for three days, dug by hand to save little Rayan! A real hero!”

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