The four children who disappeared in a plane crash in the southern jungles were found alive and in good health, after surviving 18 days in the jungle, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) and the Colombian president reported on Wednesday. although the military forces responsible for the rescue have not yet confirmed the finding. Three other adults were traveling in the device, including their mother, but their bodies were found lifeless.
More than a hundred soldiers aided by sniffer dogs were on the "trail" of the children after the discovery of clues that gave hope that the unthinkable was possible.
The four minors, thirteen, nine and four years old and an 11-month-old baby, will have to tell how they wandered and managed to survive for more than 17 days in the virgin jungle between the department of Caquetá, where the plane was found this Monday. Vertically, with the nose flattened against the ground in dense vegetation, and that of Guaviare, in southern Colombia. The plane, a Cessna 206, had disappeared from radar on May 1 in the vicinity of San José del Guaviare, where it was supposed to go.
The Cessna 206, which suffered an alleged engine failure when flying between Araracuara, was located last Monday with the lifeless body of the pilot on board, but with no trace of the other six passengers who accompanied him. A day later the authorities announced the discovery of the body of the mother and a third person. According to local media, the latter was a leader of the Uitoto indigenous community to which the other passengers belonged.
The agency, which works for the prevention and comprehensive protection of children and adolescents, pointed out that the minors, according to that report made by indigenous communities, "had been found alive and that they are also in good health." In this sense, the Institute indicated that after learning about the report "it assumed the discovery of the minors and activated the institutional procedures to establish contact with other government entities and initiate the route of restoration of rights" and gave the information to Petro so that " communicate the news to the country".
"However, the Military Forces have not yet been able to establish official contact due to the difficult weather conditions and the difficulties of the terrain, which is why they tirelessly continue with the search efforts that have yielded several finds in the area and that would make it possible to corroborate the information received by the ICBF from various sources," the agency added.
The accident occurred in a thick and rainy area that makes the search work carried out by more than 100 members of the Military Forces more difficult, along with three canines trained in search and tracking, as well as indigenous people from the region, all supported by helicopters.
The last thing the Army and the Aerocivil found was "a shelter built improvised with sticks and branches", where they found some "scissors and some 'bows' that women usually use to hold their hair", and even pieces of fruit that supposedly could have been consumed by children. Earlier, in another place, a dog that is part of the search found a bottle, which is presumed to have been used to feed the baby. Remains of fruits that the children ate to survive were also found.
The plane, operated by Avianline Charter's company, was found upside down, indicating that the crew may have attempted an emergency landing on gigantic trees with enormous roots.
