Four children, aged 13, nine, four, and one, were found alive in Colombia’s Amazon jungle after spending 40 days alone following a plane crash.
The children, members of the Huitoto indigenous group, managed to survive by drawing on their knowledge of the jungle and learning from indigenous families.
On Monday 1st May 2023, a light aircraft carrying the children, their mother, and two pilots crashed in the dense rainforest, resulting in the deaths of the adults.
Two weeks after the plane disappeared, the wreckage of the Cessna was found but there was no sign of the children.
After an extensive search effort involving 150 soldiers and local people, the children were located by authorities.
Indigenous leader Lucho Acosta, the coordinator of indigenous scouts in the Colombian Amazon region, reported that the youngest child’s cries helped guide the search team to their location.
By that time, the children were weak and exhausted, no longer able to continue moving as they had in the initial weeks.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his joy and described the rescue as a momentous occasion for the entire country, commending the children’s resilience and survival instincts.
The president shared a photograph on Twitter, showing members of the military and the indigenous community caring for the children in a forest clearing.
Following their rescue, the children were airlifted by helicopter to Bogota, the capital of Colombia. They were subsequently transported by ambulance to a hospital for comprehensive medical assessment and treatment.
