Rescue teams battling to save two-year-old boy are drilling parallel tunnel in ...

Rescue teams trying to reach a two-year-old boy trapped inside a well in Spain are expected to start drilling a new vertical tunnel today.

Officials announced late last night that they were just 10 feet away from digging out an 82ft deep chunk in the hillside and creating a platform from which powerful drills will start the job of creating the new vertical tunnel running parallel to the one Julen Rosello has spent nearly a week in.

Rescuers hope the drilling will take around 15 hours - although the race against time to reach the youngster as soon as possible means proper surveys have not been carried out and rock underground could cause further delays.

First pictures of two-year-old Julen Rosello, the Spanish boy who fell down a 15 inch wide bore hole at a countryside property near Malaga

First pictures of two-year-old Julen Rosello, the Spanish boy who fell down a 15 inch wide bore hole at a countryside property near Malaga

Rescue workers continue efforts to find toddler Julen Rosello, who fell down a narrow, 100-metre-deep borehole last Sunday

Rescue workers continue efforts to find toddler Julen Rosello, who fell down a narrow, 100-metre-deep borehole last Sunday

One of the drilling machines, described as the most powerful in Spain, was taken off a job on a motorway near Madrid so it could be used in the rescue operation.

Stage three of the operation will involve mine rescue experts flown in from northern Spain earlier this week digging out a 13-foot-long horizontal tunnel by hand from the point the drills reach to the 10-inch-wide borehole Julen is in.

The miners are expected to start their dig around 250ft down the new tunnel, the same depth as a blockage of sand, earth and rocks Julen is thought to be trapped in or under.

The rescue operation is now focusing on the constructing of a vertical tunnel running parallel to the borehole after work on a horizontal tunnel faced technical difficulties

The rescue operation is now focusing on the constructing of a vertical tunnel running parallel to the borehole after work on a horizontal tunnel faced technical difficulties

A special capsule capable of supporting the weight of two people and oxygen equipment has been created so Julen can be brought out alive if he survives what is set to be at least seven days underground.

Police and private sector experts involved in the extraordinary operation say they are still clinging to the hope the youngster is surviving in an air pocket with water and they can pull off what would undoubtedly be one of the most spectacular rescues of all time.

Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also lent their support by posting pictures of their hands on social media alongside the hashtag: 'MimanoaJulen'

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