1 in 4 children in plane crash in Colombia are found alive after 40 days Photo: Military Forces of Colombia/Disclosure Children in plane crash in Colombia are found alive after 40 days Photo: Military Forces of Colombia/ Disclosure
The four indigenous children, who have been missing for more than five weeks after a plane crash in a jungle in southern Colombia, arrived early Saturday (10) in the capital Bogotá for medical treatment.
The brothers were found in Colombia’s Solano province on Friday, according to the country’s armed forces, and were initially treated by military doctors who were part of the search teams looking for them.
The mission to find the four brothers, dubbed Operation Hope, captured the imagination of Colombians as reports of clues to their whereabouts fueled a desire to find them safely despite spending more than a month in the inhospitable jungle.
2 of 4 General of the Colombian Army Helder Giraldo in a video published on social networks commenting on the missing children Photo: Reproduction/Social Networks General of the Colombian Army Helder Giraldo in a video published on social networks commenting on the missing children Photo: Reproduction/Social Networks
“We did whatever was necessary to make the impossible possible, using satellites and aircraft that dropped messages, food, leaflets and hope,” said Gen. Pedro Sanchez, commander of the Joint Military Command for Special Operations based in Bogota.
The four children three girls and one boy can be seen in photos shared by the Colombian military. looked thin while being cared for by rescuers. The names are:
- Lesly Mucutuy, 13 years old;
- Soleiny Mucutuy, 9 years old;
- Tien Mucutuy, 4 years old and
- Cristin Mucutuy, 1 year old
According to the Colombian press, the children are dehydrated, have insect bites and minor injuries, especially on their feet, from walking long distances barefoot.
After the plane with the children landed in Bogotá, four ambulances were waiting to pick them up and take them to a military hospital for special medical care.
3 of 4 One in 4 indigenous children found alive after 40 days in the Amazon rainforest in Colombia Photo: Juan BARRETO / AFP One in 4 indigenous children found alive after 40 days in the Amazon rainforest in Colombia Photo: Juan BARRETO / AFP
Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro is scheduled to visit the children in the hospital on Saturday morning.
It’s unclear if the children have already been reunited with their father, Manuel Ranoque, who was not on the plane and involved in the search.
Children in plane crash in Colombia are rescued after 40 days
They have been missing in the jungle since a Cessna 206 carrying seven people on a route between Araracuara Airport in Caquetá and San José del Guaviare, a town in Guaviare province, triggered an engine failure alert early in the morning of May 1.
Three adults, including the pilot and the children’s mother, perished in the crash and their bodies were found on the plane. The brothers, aged 13, 9 and 4, and a 12monthold baby survived the impact.
4 of 4 Infographic showing chronology of child searches in the Colombian Amazon Photo: Arte/g1 Infographic showing chronology of child searches in the Colombian Amazon Photo: Arte/g1