Weeks after plane crash, 4 Colombian children are discovered alive in the jungle.
More than five weeks after their plane crashed in dense jungle, four indigenous children from Colombia were discovered alive in the country’s south on Friday, according to President Gustavo Petro.
The military located the kids close to the spot where the small plane had crashed, which is the border between the provinces of Caqueta and Guaviare in Colombia.
During the early hours of May 1, the Cessna 206 aircraft, which was transporting seven people, experienced engine trouble while flying between Araracuara, in the Amazonas province, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in the Guaviare province.
The bodies of three adults who perished in the crash, including the pilot, were discovered inside the aircraft. The baby, who is now 12 months old, and the other three children, ages 13, 9, and 4, all survived the collision.
The four kids could be seen with a group of soldiers in the middle of the jungle in pictures released by Colombia’s military.
“A joy for the entire nation! The four kids who were missing in the Colombian jungle “appears to be alive,” Petro wrote in a tweet.
Petro posted on Twitter on May 17 that children had been discovered, but later removed the post, claiming the information was unconfirmed.
“They were together, and I think they’re weak. Let the doctors examine them.” Petro told reporters on Friday, “They found them, and that makes me very happy. The kids had defended themselves on their own in the middle of the jungle.
Rescuers had previously discovered abandoned fruit that the kids had eaten for survival as well as makeshift shelters made of jungle vegetation with the help of search dogs.
The army and air force of Colombia’s aircraft participated in the rescue efforts.
Reuters
