Moroccan boy trapped in well died: Statement

Moroccan rescuers retrieved a boy from a well where he had been stuck for five days, state media reported late on Saturday, but the royal palace said in a statement carried by state media that the boy had died.

"Following the tragic accident which cost the life of the child Rayan Oram, His Majesty King Mohammed VI called the parents of the boy who died after falling down the well," the statement said.

King Mohammed VI called Rayan's parents and offered them his condolences, MAP reported, citing the royal court.

When an ambulance reversed into the deep cut that rescue teams had excavated to reach the stricken child and took away a body, the child's condition had not immediately been clear.

But news of his death sent a chill through the cold mountain air of his home village of Ighrane in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco where thousands of volunteers and well-wishers had gathered this week in a show of solidarity with his family.

The boy's ordeal since he fell down the 32 metre (100 foot) shaft on Tuesday afternoon had gripped residents of the North African kingdom and beyond, also sparking sympathy in neighbouring Algeria, a regional rival.