JULEN RESCUE: Progress slowed by weekend rains and terrain issues

RESCUE workers trying to reach missing 2-year-old Julen have reportedly managed to drill 52 of the 60 metres needed to reach the boy.

According to Spanish media, specialists are almost at the depth needed to build a supplementary tunnel to reach the well Julen fell down on Sunday January 13.

Experts had hoped to reach 60 metres by Monday, however they say progress was slowed by rains over the weekend as well as issues with the terrain, which was reportedly harder than expected.

According to media reports, specialists say they hope to reach full depth this evening.

They claim it will then take another roughly nine hours to build the supplementary tunnel linking their hole with the well.

Julen fell down a 110-metre well in the Sierra de Totalan while on a trip with his family last weekend.

The width of the hole, which measures 25 centimetres in diameter, has made it difficult for workers to gain access to the child.

An initial attempt to send a camera down the hole, which was reportedly dug by prospectors looking for water, failed after a blockade of sand and stones proved impassable at around 73 metres deep.

Experts reportedly now believe they have found a 15-metre gap below this blockade where Julen could be.

The family had previously lost their only other child, Oliver aged 3, when he died of a sudden heart attack while walking down the street with his parents in 2017.

JULEN UPDATE: 2-year-old could still be alive after new discovery by rescue workers

UPDATE: Search for Julen complicated as unstable land threatens to collapse the well