I really feel for the boy's mother who must have gone through hell after her son called her. I was once in a similar situation myself where a dear friend of min

I really feel for the boy's mother who must have gone through hell after her son called her. I was once in a similar situation myself where a dear friend of mine got in big trouble while traveling in Vietnam: Since the country is a Malaria area my friend took prophylactic medication (Malarone). As an (infrequent) side effect these drugs can cause hallucinations and severe anxiety attacks, which unfortunately is what happened to her. When the symptoms hit her she was alone (as the only Western person) in a small train station in Ho-Chi-Minh city and became suddenly so scared that she hid in a corner, hallucinating and unable to call out for help. Lucky for her I called her up after she failed to send me a message as we had agreed on a few days earlier and found out about the dangerous situation. And while she was not able to speak clearly she was at least able to communicate where she was to me. So, I immediately thought about how I could get help to her and tried calling the local emergency numbers using Skype, my mobile phone and my landline. As it turns out, those numbers are usually not reachable from outside the country. So what I did instead (and what I would do again in a similar situation) was to call the emergency number of the local embassy / consulate in the country. These always have staff answering the phone 24/7, but unfortunately even they are not always willing to help you. It usually helps to first get the name of the person who answered the phone and then explain to him/her that the person in distress is a citizen of his/her country and that he/she is in acute danger. Also, explain to them (in case they forgot) that it is their duty to protect the life of the citizens of their country abroad and to do anything in their power to get help to them as fast as possible. They will know better than you which number to call or how to organize help (in case the emergency response system is not very functional as was the case in Vietnam). Do not waste time trying to call the local emergency numbers.