Four infants found alive in Amazon Colombia after surviving plane crash for weeks

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday that rescuers have found four children alive two weeks after their plane crashed in the Amazon.

Military personnel, firefighters and civil aviation officials rescued the children in the dense jungles of Caqueta province, Colombia.

The plane — a Cessna 206 — was carrying seven people on a route between Araraquara in Amazonas province and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare province, when it raised an alert on Mayday due to engine failure in the early hours of May 1. .

“After a hard search by our military, we have found alive the four children who went missing after a plane crash in Guaviare. A joy for the country,” Pietro said in a message via Twitter.

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 an 11-month-old infant survived the impact.

Initial information from the Civil Aviation Authority, which coordinated the rescue effort, is that the children fled the plane and set off into the rainforest to get help.

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 both the Colombian Army and Air Force took part in the rescue operations.