DNA boost to ancestor hunt
Parents saw him plunge down hole
BRITS may soon be able to discover in more detail which ancient populations they are descended from following a breakthrough in DNA technology.
Scientists have created a shortcut where less information is needed to determine the bio-geographical origins of a skeleton.
It means people will be able to test their DNA more accurately against that of our ancestors.
Sheffield University said: “We now need only 13,000 DNA markers not millions to determine origin.” 350ft: Bottom of the borehole RESCUE PLAN 1 Remove the earth from the landslide and send camera further down the well to find him.
RESCUE PLAN 2 Dig a wider hole for rescuers alongside the borehole then tunnel across to reach the area where Julen is trapped
RESCUE PLAN 3 Excavate side of mountain to create a tunnel to the borehole below blockage at 250ft The farm where family were visiting Well in Totalan, Malaga, is 15in wide
Family and rescuers at scene yesterday RESCUERS were racing against time yesterday to find a toddler who fell down a 350ft well in front of his horrified parents.
The family of the two-year-old, named only as Julen, were preparing lunch with pals on a countryside trip and could not reach him before he plunged through the 15in-wide hole.
His dad called police and a huge operation was launched on Sunday.
A relative told officers they heard him crying seconds after he vanished. But the cries have since stopped amid fears he may have sunk into a mixture of sand and water at the bottom.
Relatives were seen arriving at the scene yesterday as more than 100 firefighters, police and mountain rescuers planned to reach Julen.
Three attempts to reach the lad are expected to be made simultaneously.
Another hole will be bored next to the well and the nearby mountainside excavated to get the camera further down and to tunnel across to him, as a team continues to search and excavate the well.
Bernardo Molto of the Guardia Civil said: “The first option involves the removal of earth with a lorry which will come to take it away.
“The second is to dig a hole running parallel to the existing one with the additional problem that the hole is not cased and it has to be cased first to avoid it collapsing.
“The third alternative that’s going to be approved is an excavation from the side of the mountain.”
A bag of sweets and cup Julen was carrying have been recovered from the hole at the country property near Malaga, on Spain’s Costa del Sol. A camera sent into the opening failed to capture sound or images indicating he is alive but a blockage thought to be a small landslide was spotted 250ft down.
The hole was reportedly created last December by prospectors and then covered over with stones.
Julen’s parents have been named locally as Vicky and Jose, who are in their 20s and live in the El Palo neighbourhood of Malaga.
Reports said they lost their threeyear-old son Oliver to an unexpected heart attack two years ago.
They were enjoying a day in the countryside with friends a 20-minute drive from home and preparing paella for Sunday lunch near a prehistoric burial ground when Julen fell into the well at around 2pm.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said: “I share the anguish of the family of the two-year-old who has fallen down a well in Totalan, Malaga.”
The government’s representative in the region, María Gámez, said the rescuers were looking into “every technical possibility” given the hole is too narrow for an adult to enter.
Emergency services fear Julen is beneath the bank of wet sand discovered 250ft down. By midday yesterday, just 30cm of earth had been removed from the shaft.
Elias Bendodo, president of the Provincial Council of Malaga, said the search and rescue teams “would not stop until they found him”. PM PEDRO SANCHEZ ON SEARCH FOR JULEN
I share the anguish of the family. We hope for the best outcome