Four Colombian children found alive after plane crash in Amazon, now missing

Four children from Colombia’s indigenous community were found alive Friday in the south of the country after spending more than a month in Colombia’s Amazon rainforest following the crash of a small plane, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced.

The military rescued the children near the border between the Caqueta and Guaviare departments of Colombia, near where the small plane crashed.

The plane — a Cessna 206 — was carrying seven people on a route between Araracuara, Amazonas province, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare province, when it issued a warning one day due to engine failure in the early hours of May 1. .

Three adults, including the pilot, died as a result of the plane crash and their bodies were found inside the plane. The four children, ages 13, 9 and 4, plus a baby now 12 months old, survived the impact.

Pictures published by the Colombian army showed a group of soldiers with four children in the middle of the forest.

“A joy for the whole country! The four children who went missing…in the Colombian jungle seemed alive,” Pietro said in a message on Twitter.

Petro initially reported that the children had been found on May 17 in a message on Twitter but later deleted the post, saying the information was unconfirmed.

“They were together and they are weak so let the doctors assess them. They found them and it makes me very happy,” Pietro told reporters on Friday, adding that the children fended for themselves on their own in the middle of the forest.

Rescuers, supported by search dogs, previously found discarded fruit that children ate to survive, as well as improvised shelters made from jungle plants.

Planes and helicopters from the Colombian army and air force took part in the rescue operations.