Four children have been found alive in Colombia’s Amazon jungle more than a month after the plane they were travelling on crashed, BBC reported.
The siblings – aged between one and 13 years old – spent weeks fending for themselves after their mother, and the other adults on the light aircraft died at the crash site.
Rescuers initially feared the worst, but clues including foot prints and partially eaten wild fruit gave them hope that the children might still be alive after they left the crash site looking for help.
Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, aged 13, Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9, Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4, and infant Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy were stranded in the jungle on May 1, the only survivors of a deadly plane crash.
Their mother, Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia, was killed in the crash along with two other adult passengers: pilot Hernando Murcia Morales and Yarupari indigenous leader Herman Mendoza Hernández.
The children’s subsequent disappearance into the deep forest galvanized a massive military-led search operation involving over a hundred Colombian special forces troops and over 70 indigenous scouts combing the area.
For weeks, the search turned up only tantalizing clues, including footprints, a dirty diaper and a bottle. Family members said the oldest child had some experience in the forest, but hopes waned as the weeks went on.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/09/americas/colombia-children-amazon-found-intl-latam/index.html