The minors, brothers to each other, were found in a remote place between the departments of Caquetá and Guaviare, where they were searched non-stop for weeks by around 200 soldiers
“A joy for the whole country! “The four children who were lost in the Colombian jungle 40 days ago appeared to be alive,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote in a message on Twitter.
The four children, who have been missing since May 1 after the plane crash in which they were traveling with three adults in the jungles of southern Colombia, were found alive this Friday by soldiers involved in their search, official sources said.
“A joy for the whole country! “The four children who were lost in the Colombian jungle 40 days ago appeared to be alive,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on his Twitter account, confirming the news announced by Caracol Radio minutes earlier.
The protagonists of this miracle of surviving 40 days in the jungle are the minors Lesly Mukutuy, 13 years old; Soleiny Mukutuy, 9; Tien Noriel Ronoque Mukutuy, 4, and one-year-old baby Cristin Neruman Ranoque.
The minors, brothers to each other, were found in a remote location between the departments of Caquetá and Guaviare, where they were searched non-stop for weeks by about 200 soldiers, including commandos of the army’s special forces, and indigenous peoples from various tribes familiar with the jungle.
President Petro posted this photo of the rescue on Twitter.
The news awaited by the country
Petro confirmed the news to the country as soon as he stepped off the presidential plane in Havana, where a temporary bilateral ceasefire agreement was signed with the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) this Friday.
“Now that I’m back, the first news is that the indigenous communities involved in the search and the armed forces together found the four children alive after 40 days,” Petro said.
The army released several photos showing the four minors sitting in a clearing in the middle of the jungle, covered with blankets and surrounded by soldiers and locals.
In general, the four are in good health, although they look emaciated and malnourished, which is natural after the odyssey they have endured.
The four children were traveling with their mother, another adult and the pilot of an Avianline Charter Cessna 206 that crashed on May 1.
The three adults died in the accident and their bodies were found days later, but the four children, who were from an indigenous community, survived.
“I was alone. You yourself created an example of survival that will go down in history, so today these children are the children of peace,” added the President.
Since the plane was found, a gigantic search operation for the four children began, during which the military and the indigenous people hiked thousands of square kilometers through the jungle and made numerous helicopter and plane flights until they were finally found today.
Joining forces made this joy possible for Colombia.
A military helicopter was dispatched to the site where the children were found, to take them out of the jungle and take them to an urban center.
Petro, who described the find as “a gift to life,” added that depending on medical evaluation, the children will be taken to San José del Guaviare, the capital of Guaviare, or Bogotá tomorrow, and he hopes to visit them soon can.
#GeneralGiraldo: “The combined forces have made this joy possible for Colombia”
Glory to the soldiers of the @FuerzasMilColto the indigenous communities and institutions that were part of it #OperationHope” pic.twitter.com/LO3BPldLgD
— Colombian Armed Forces (@FuerzasMilCol) June 10, 2023
