A baby bottle, scissors, footprints and a tree hut found in the Colombian jungle this week prove at least one of the four children who disappeared after the light plane they were traveling on crashed on May 1 survived .
But the mystery that is gripping Colombia and far beyond is only deepening over time. The four children aged 13, 9, 4 and an 11-month-old baby remain untraceable.
Here’s what we know about this tragedy that claimed the lives of at least three people, including the children’s mother.
What happened on May 1st?
On the morning of May 1st, an Avianline Charters Cessna 206 took off from Araracuara (south) to San José del Guaviare, one of the most important cities in the Colombian Amazon. On board the pilot and six members of the Uitoto indigenous community, an indigenous chief and a mother with her four children.
A few minutes after taking off on a 350-kilometer flight over the jungle, the pilot reports engine problems and the plane disappears from radar.
During the search conducted, the aircraft was not found until Monday, May 15, vertically and with its nose pressed in, in the midst of dense vegetation. The pilot’s body was found on the plane. It was not until the next day that the forces coordinating the search announced the discovery of the remains of the mother and the local chief. The children’s only immediate lead is a bottle found not far away thanks to a sniffer dog and freshly chewed fruit.
What clues were found?
Then it will be shoes and clothes. On Wednesday, May 17, soldiers discovered a “makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches,” then a dog, a pair of scissors and a piece of a hair band.
A new footprint was discovered on Thursday. Air Force helicopters fly over the area and broadcast an audio message from the children’s grandmother in the Uitoto language, telling them they are wanted and asking them to stay where they are for rescue. You can find them.
According to the grandfather, they are “used to the jungle” and could hide out of fear after the accident. “Why do children leave behind objects” that could be useful for their survival: “Scissors are a weapon or can be used to cut a sheet,” he wondered on Friday.
Why is the case confusing?
“A joy for the country,” President Petro tweeted on Wednesday, urging to announce the rescue of the children. The information went around the world, but the President himself denied it in a new message the next day: “I have decided to delete the tweet because the information provided by the ICBF could not be confirmed.” I regret what happened .”
He blames the public body responsible for safeguarding children’s rights, which said in a press release on Wednesday that it had “received information” that the four children were “found alive and in good health”.
However, the ICBF pointed out that “due to the difficult weather and terrain conditions, official contact is not yet possible for the armed forces”.
Where are the searches?
On Friday, the army announced it had increased the number of teams on the ground to let them through from 100 to 150. She is assisted by local locals who know the jungle and the difficulties of getting around.
“There is no village in this sector and even the locals don’t know it,” explained the grandfather. The jungle and rivers in the south of the country are also a corridor for the guerrillas of the former FARC’s main dissidents.