President Gustavo Petro announced on Friday that four children from an indigenous community in Colombia were discovered alive more than five weeks after their plane crashed in the jungle in the southern part of the country.The military successfully rescued the children near the border of Caqueta and Guaviare provinces, not far from where the small aircraft had gone down.
In a Twitter message, Mr Petro expressed the joy felt by the entire nation, stating, “A joy for the whole country. The four children who were lost in the Colombian jungle appeared alive.”The ill-fated plane, a Cessna 206, was en route from Araracuara in Amazonas province to San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare province, in the early hours of May 1 when it experienced engine failure.
Tragically, three adults, including the pilot, lost their lives in the crash. However, the four children, aged 13, 9, 4, and an 11-month-old baby, managed to survive.Preliminary information provided by the civil aviation authority, which coordinated the rescue efforts, suggests that the children escaped the wreckage and ventured into the rainforest in search of help.
Rescuers, aided by search dogs, discovered discarded fruit that the children had consumed to sustain themselves, as well as makeshift shelters constructed using jungle vegetation.Colombia’s army and air force deployed planes and helicopters to assist in the rescue operations.
¡Una alegría para todo el país! Aparecieron con vida los 4 niños que estaban perdidos hace 40 días en la selva colombiana. pic.twitter.com/cvADdLbCpm
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 9, 2023
