Miraculously, four children have been found alive in the thick jungle, five weeks after the plane they were traveling in crashed. The Colombian military successfully rescued them not far from the crash site of the Cessna 206. Tragically, three adults onboard, including the pilot, did not survive.
Determined search operations were in full swing to locate the children, who are siblings with ages spanning from 13 to just 11 months old. Officials remained hopeful of their survival, particularly after discovering discarded fruit that the children had consumed to sustain themselves. Rescuers also found improvised shelters made of jungle vegetation, providing further evidence of the children’s resourcefulness.
Colombian President Gustav Petro expressed immense joy, stating, “A joy for the whole country! The four children who were lost… in the Colombian jungle appeared alive.” However, it is worth noting that two weeks after their disappearance, President Petro mistakenly announced their rescue, for which he later apologized.
The children have been transported to the capital city of Bogota for medical evaluation. Footage captured a helicopter using lines to lift them up since it couldn’t land in the dense rainforest.
On Twitter, the Colombian military posted images showcasing soldiers and volunteers posing alongside rescued children, who were warmly enveloped in thermal blankets. One of the soldiers held a bottle to the lips of the youngest child.
The group of four children, members of the Huitoto people, had been traveling with their mother from the Amazonian village of Araracuara to San Jose del Guaviare when the plane crashed. Officials noted that the older children in the group possessed some survival knowledge in the rainforest.
Colombian President Petro emphasized the significance of the jungle in their survival, stating, “The jungle saved them. They are children of the jungle, and now they are also children of Colombia.”
