The children survived 15 days in the Amazon jungle after the light aircraft that was transporting them crashed.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 05/17/2023 at 21:18, updated 05/17/2023 at 23:53
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Soldier with a dog in the forest in a rural area of the municipality of Solano, department of Caqueta, Colombia, May 17, 2023. HANDOUT / AFP
The four children, including an 11-month-old baby, were found alive alone in the jungle of Colombia’s Amazon after a light plane crash that killed their mother and two other adults on Wednesday, President Gustavo Petro announced. “After painstaking search efforts by our armed forces, we have found alive the four children who disappeared in the May 1 plane crash in the south of the country,” the Colombian President said on Twitter.
More than 100 soldiers were on the trail with the help of sniffer dogs in Colombia. “Efforts to locate the four minors, aged 13, 9, 4 and an 11-month-old baby, have intensified in recent hours after new leads were uncovered,” the army said in a statement.
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presence of wild animals
The children have been trekking for more than 15 days in the Amazon jungle between the department of Caqueta, where the plane was found, and the department of Guaviare in the south of the country. The plane, a Cessna 206, disappeared from radar on May 1 near San José del Guaviare. Authorities were only able to locate him earlier this week and announced the discovery of the lifeless bodies of the three adults, including that of the pilot on the plane.
Rescue teams discovered a “makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches” and assumed there would be at least one survivor, the army statement said. Photos leaked to the press showed a pair of scissors and a label that looked like a hair band – new leads for rescue workers.
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The authorities announced on Tuesday that they had found personal items and some fruit that had been eaten. A baby bottle was found near the device. However, the jungle in this region, which is particularly difficult to access, is very dense and dangerous. The search had been complicated by the presence of wildlife, trees up to 40 meters tall and heavy rainfall.
The causes of the accident have not yet been clarified. According to Civil Protection, the pilot had reported problems with the plane’s engine before it disappeared from radar. Photos released by the Army show the plane vertical in the middle of thick vegetation, nose pressed to the ground.