“A joy for the country,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro rejoiced 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 began On May 11, they discovered the small plane they were traveling in with their mother, who was found dead along with the other two adults on board.
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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 an eleven-month-old baby have to tell how they wandered for more than 15 days in the jungle between the department of Caqueta where the plane was found and survived on Monday with their noses crushed the ground in dense vegetation and in guaviare in southern Colombia.
The plane, a Cessna 206, disappeared from radar on May 1 near San José del Guaviare, where it was supposed to be flying.
The causes of the accident have not yet been clarified. According to civil protection, the pilot had reported engine problems before the plane disappeared from radar.
Authorities first announced the plane had been found on Monday. The lifeless body of the pilot was on board, but there was no sign of the six other passengers around. On Tuesday they announced the discovery of the mother’s body and a third person. According to local media, the latter was a leader of the indigenous Uitoto community, to which the other passengers belonged.
The children, who belonged to the same siblings, were missing.
Dense and dangerous jungle
After the crash, there continue to be many gray areas as events unfold.
The jungle is very dense and dangerous in this particularly remote region. The search was particularly complicated by the presence of wildlife, trees up to 40 meters tall 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 raised hopes that there was 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.
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The Air Force took part in the “Hope” relief operation with three helicopters. On board one of these devices, a loudspeaker “capable of covering an area of about 1,500 meters” broadcast a message recorded by the children’s grandmother.
In the Uitoto language, the woman informed her grandchildren that they were wanted and asked them to stay where they were so the rescuers could find them.
Authorities gave no reason for the family’s flight. However, the inhabitants of this region, which is difficult to access in particular due to the lack of roads, are often forced to travel in light aircraft.
According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), the Uitoto live in “harmony” in the jungle and maintain traditions such as hunting, fishing and wild fruit gathering.