A MASSIVE OPERATION to locate and rescue a two-year-old boy who is trapped in a 350ft well in Spain has entered its third day.

Police said they have yet to find any sign of the young boy – bar a packet of sweets and a plastic cup in a blockage nearly 250ft down the 10-inch wide hole – but insisted they would continue to search for him round-the-clock in the hope of saving him.

Specialist machinery has been brought in to ‘suck’ away the earth which has prevented emergency service responders from confirming the boy, named Julen, is beneath the blockage – thought to have been caused by a mini-landslide as he fell – and is still alive.

Overnight, private sector experts began to install tubing in the uncased shaft on land near Totalán, a 30-minute drive northeast of Malaga, to prevent it collapsing.

Officials admitted Julen’s condition was unknown, with his loved ones clinging to the hope there was water and a pocket of air at the bottom of the well which could be keeping him alive despite a fall which has been described as the equivalent of 30 floors.

Praying for a miracle 

The youngster’s parents, whose three-year-old son Oliver died in May 2017 after suffering a heart attack believed to be linked to a congenital heart condition, continued to pray for a miracle from a tent at the scene where they have spent the past 40 hours since their son vanished.

This morning’s work was geared towards continuing to try to remove the blockage 250ft down the well while shoring up the shaft. Two other options have also been considered, although neither has yet been launched.

One involves creating another wider hole, running parallel to the existing well, which would be made slighter deeper and link to the first hole in a u-bend.

The other involves excavating a horizontal tunnel an adult could fit into through the hillside to the spot where rescuers hope to eventually locate Julen.

Officials have said both options could take at least two days to complete – and they ideally need to discover exactly where the youngster is first.

More than 100 people including police, firefighters, Civil Protection workers and private sector experts are involved in the search operation.