A man who spent five days in a well waiting to be rescued has died, authorities say. 

Efforts to extricate Julio Cesar Hernández Rivera, a 36-year-old from Montitlán, Colima, began last Friday after the ground gave way and buried him in the well he was cleaning.

The soil in the area is volcanic, rich in clay and not compacted, making any kind of excavation complicated, especially that of rescue efforts.

By Wednesday Civil Protection workers had managed to pull his torso free of the constantly collapsing, 12-meter deep pit, but subsequent collapses and Hernández’s deteriorating state of health made further efforts impossible and it was determined he had perished after once again being buried up to his neck.

A doctor with the Jalisco Red Cross said that being buried for so long caused a lack of blood flow to Hernández’s extremities, which led to a deterioration of injured tissues. 

“When that blood flow is restored, all those toxins or injuries in the extremities begin to generate problems in the respiratory, circulatory and neurological systems. This happened to Julio César, whose health deteriorated in minutes until he was unconscious and reached a critical stage,” the doctor said.

Around 50 people assisted in Hernández’s rescue efforts. Heavy equipment was used to retrieve Hernández’s body on Thursday. 

Source: El Universal (sp)