BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on Wednesday he had found four children alive in the south of the country, more than two weeks after the plane they were traveling in crashed in the dense jungle.
Military personnel, firefighters and officials of the Civil Aviation Authority 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 issued a warning one day 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 baby 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, had earlier found discarded fruit the children had eaten 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.
Additional reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta. Writing by Oliver Griffin and David Gregorio
Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.