Four Colombian children found alive in jungle weeks after plane crash

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian President Gustavo Petro said four children from the country’s indigenous community were found alive in the south of the country on Friday, more than five weeks after their plane crashed into the jungle. announced that it had been discovered.

The brothers were rescued by the military near the border of Colombia’s Caqueta and Guaviare provinces, near where the small plane crashed.

A Cessna 206 with seven people on board was flying between Araraquara, Amazonas, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare. .

Three adults, including the pilot and the children’s mother, Magdalena Muktui, died in the crash and were found dead on board. Four siblings, ages 13, 9 and 4, and their baby, now 12 months old, survived the impact.

Narciso Muktui, grandfather of three girls and a boy, told reporters he was happy to hear the news of the rescue.

“As the grandfather of the grandchildren who were lost in the Yali jungle, I am very happy at this moment,” he said.

A photo shared by the Colombian military showed a group of soldiers with four children in the middle of the jungle.

“Great news for the whole country! Four children missing in the Colombian jungle seem to be alive,” Petro said on Twitter.

Petro initially reported in a Twitter message that the children had been found on May 17, but later deleted the post saying the information was unconfirmed.

“The children were with me. They were weak and I will let the doctor check them. I am very happy that they found me.” He added that he kept it.

Aided by search dogs, rescuers had previously found discarded fruit that children ate to survive, as well as makeshift shelters made from jungle plants.

Colombian Army and Air Force planes and helicopters participated in the rescue operation.

Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta. By Oliver Griffin.Editing: Jamie Freed

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