A Sad Find: Body of Toddler Who Fell Down Well

Julen Rosello had plummeted down borehole in Spain on Jan. 13
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 26, 2019 6:00 AM CST
After 13 Days of Searching, an 'Infinite Sadness'
In this photo taken Thursday, Jose Rosello and Victoria Garcia, parents of 2-year-old Julen Rosello, take part on a vigil near Malaga, Spain.   (Alex Zea/Europa Press via AP)

Nearly two weeks after it began, a story overseas ends in heartbreak. Rescuers who'd been desperately trying to get to a toddler who'd fallen down a well in Spain had hoped that he might still be alive due to the cold weather, which could have slowed down his metabolism enough to help him survive. Early Saturday, however, the body of 2-year-old Julen Rosello was found, the BBC reports. "At 01:25, the rescue teams reached the area of the well where they were looking for Julen and they found the lifeless body of the little one," a government rep said. Even though their chances had seemed slim, Julen's parents, Jose Rosello and Victoria Garcia, held out hope their son would be found. "My wife is broken ... we are dead inside," Rosello told reporters Wednesday, per NBC News, adding they prayed for an "angel" to get Julen out of the well.

The New York Times notes the search near the town of Totalan in Malaga province grew to involve more than 300 emergency workers, firefighters, and mining specialists, who remained at the well day and night as they continued to dig and use a robotic camera in the hopes of finding signs of life in the borehole. The well had been dug last month in an effort to get to groundwater, but it had either not been covered or was incorrectly secured AFP notes, via CNN. The BBC reports this is the second child lost by Julen's parents: Not even two years ago, their 3-year-old son Oliver died of a heart problem. "All of Spain feels the infinite sadness of Julen's family," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted after the boy's body was found. "We will always appreciate the tireless effort of those who searched for him during all these days." (More Spain stories.)

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