After surviving an aircraft crash and surviving on their own for weeks in Colombia’s Amazon jungle, four kids have been discovered alive.
The release of the siblings, who are 13 years old, 9 years old, 4 years old, and 1 year old, was described as “a joy for the whole country” by Colombia’s president. On May 1, the mother of the kids and two pilots perished in a light aircraft crash in the woods.
A massive rescue effort involving dozens of soldiers and locals was focused on the missing youngsters. The group was discovered on a “magical day,” according to President Gustavo Petro, who also noted that the survivors “were alone and they themselves achieved an example of total survival which will remain in history.”
The kids are from the indigenous Huitoto people. Mr. Petro posted a picture of the siblings, who had been missing for 40 days, being cared for by a number of military personnel and Indigenous people. The smallest child was fed from a bottle by one of the rescuers, who also used a spoon to feed one of the other kids from a mug.
The children could be seen being airlifted into a helicopter in the dark over the tall trees of the bush in a video posted by Colombia’s defense ministry. They were airlifted to Bogota, the country’s capital, where ambulances took them to a hospital for additional medical care.
After their rescue, the grandmother of the kids, Fatima Valencia, said: “I am very grateful, and to mother earth as well, that they were set free.” They were able to survive in the bush because the oldest of the four siblings was accustomed to caring for the other three while their mother was at work, according to the woman.” She gave them flour and cassava bread, any fruit in the bush, they know what they must consume,” Ms. Valencia stated in video that EVN was able to secure.
The Cessna 206 plane that the kids and their mother were riding on when they were killed was on route from Araracuara, in the province of Amazonas, to San José del Guaviare when it made a mayday signal owing to an engine failure.
The soldiers discovered the dead of the three adults at the accident site, but it appeared that the kids had fled the debris and were looking for assistance in the rainforest. After an extensive search, rescuers found the children’s belongings in May, including a child’s bottle, a pair of scissors, a hair tie, and a makeshift shelter.
Small footprints were also found, which gave search workers hope that the kids were still alive in the jungle, which is inhabited by predators like jaguars and snakes. The community of kids anticipated that their understanding of fruits and forest survival techniques would increase their chances of surviving.
Indigenous people joined the search, and helicopters aired a message in the Huitoto language that was recorded by the children’s grandmother pleading with them to stop moving so that they would be easier to find. Fidencio Valencia, the children’s grandfather, requested that the children be transported to Villavicencio, which is around 130 kilometers (142 miles) from Bogota, when they were discovered.
“I’m sorry to trouble you, but I must ask the president as the highest authority; it is my right and my obligation because it is in my blood and in my family. In an interview that EVN also got from him, he stated, “I want to see the kids here in Villavicencio.
Mr. Petro had before claimed to have communicated with the children’s grandfather. Last month, the president faced backlash after a tweet from his handle incorrectly claimed that the kids had been located. The following day, he removed the tweet, claiming that it was unconfirmed information that his office had received from Colombia’s child care organization.