Rescuers are making slow progress in exceptionally difficult conditions trying to reach a two-year-old boy who fell into a narrow, deep borehole in the countryside eight days ago, Spanish officials said.
Angel Garcia, the leading engineer co-ordinating the search and rescue operation, said work had to stop briefly early on Monday to perform maintenance on a drill being used to create a vertical shaft.
Mr Garcia said the rocks are extremely hard and the drill has been working non-stop for many hours at the site near the town of Totalan in Malaga.
The shaft runs parallel to the borehole and aims to go down 60 metres (197ft) – roughly to where the boy is believed to be.
The drill has so far reached 53 metres.
After that, miners will be lowered down the shaft to dig a horizontal tunnel to the boy’s presumed location.
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