These children, aged between 11 months and 13 years, were found in the Colombian Amazon this Wednesday, more than two weeks after their light plane crashed. They were traveling with their mother, who was found dead, as were the other two adults on board.
“A joy for the country,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday as he announced the safe discovery of four children, including an 11-month-old baby, who survived more than 15 days alone in the Amazon jungle after the crash from the small plane they were traveling in with their mother were found dead along with the other two adults on board.
More than a hundred soldiers, with the help of sniffer dogs, were “on the trail” of the children after uncovering clues that gave hope that the unthinkable was possible.
The four minors aged thirteen, nine, four and a baby eleven months old have to tell how they wandered for more than 15 days in the jungle between the department of Caqueta where the small plane was found and survived Monday nosed vertically depressed on the ground in dense vegetation, and that of Guaviare in southern Colombia.
The discovery of the airplane
The plane, a Cessna 206, disappeared from radar on May 1 near San José del Guaviare, where it was supposed to be flying. Authorities first announced their discovery on Monday. The lifeless body of the pilot was on board, but there was no sign of the six other passengers around. Then on Tuesday they announced the discovery of the body of the mother and a third person whose identity was not released.
The children, who belong to the same siblings and are Uitoto, an indigenous people, went missing.
There are still many gray areas about the further course after the plane crash.
The jungle is very dense and dangerous in this particularly remote region. The search was made particularly difficult by the presence of wild animals, trees up to 40 meters high and heavy rainfall.
But on Tuesday, authorities announced that they had found personal belongings and some fruit that had been eaten. And a bottle near the device.
Rescue teams then discovered a “makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches” and continued to hope there would be at least one survivor.
Photos released to the press show scissors and a tag that appeared to be a hair band – new clues that helped rescuers orient themselves.