Four children who went missing in the Amazon jungle of Colombia, South America, after a plane crash have been found safe and sound 40 days after the crash. Colombians are celebrating what they say is a “true miracle.
“Colombian military authorities have officially reported to the government that they have ‘confirmed that the four children who went missing in the Amazon jungle are alive,'” Colombian media outlets including El Tiempo and El Espectador reported on Sept. 9 메이저사이트(local time). The military also released photos of the children being cared for by searchers.
The children were found safe exactly 40 days after the incident. The children are Leslie Mukutui (13), Soleini Mukutui (9), Thien Noriel Ronoke Mukutui (4), and Christine Neriman Ranoke Mukutui (1). The youngest child celebrated his first birthday in the Amazon jungle after the accident when he was 11 months old.
Earlier, on March 1, a small plane traveling from Araracuara in southern Colombia to San Jose del Guaviare crashed over the Amazon jungle. The plane was carrying three adults and four children, including the pilot. All three adults were found dead at the crash site, but the four children were never found. Colombian authorities launched a search using helicopters and dogs, and found baby bottles and pieces of fruit. As hope grew that the children were alive, the search intensified.
A recording of the children’s grandmother saying, “Don’t move, stay where you are,” was broadcast from a helicopter over the jungle. On March 18, Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded to a false report by tweeting, “The four missing children have been found. Great joy for the country,” before deleting it.
The children were found about 5 kilometers west of the plane’s crash site. They are reportedly malnourished but otherwise in good health. How the children survived the plane crash and how they survived 40 days in the jungle is of great interest. Local media speculate that the children were in the back of the plane, which may have saved their lives as they were less impacted by the crash. During the search, survival kits containing food and other necessities were dropped from the air into the jungle, which may have helped them survive. The Colombian government said the rescued children were flown by air to a military base in the capital, Bogotá, where they are being monitored at a nearby hospital.