Surviving a plane crash is an extraordinary occurrence, staying alive in a jungle for 40 days is definitely a miracle. This is the summary of the four children aged 13, 9 , 4, and 12-month-old, who survived a plane crash on 1st of May 2023.
The Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced on Friday (9th of June) on twitter that the military has found the missing four children alive and calling to an end search and rescue mission that lasted 40days in the thick jungle.
The plane – a Cessna 206 – was carrying seven people on a route between Araracuara, in Amazonas province, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare province, when it issued a Mayday alert due to engine failure in the early hours of May 1.
On board the plane was three adults including the pilot, mother of the four children and the four kids.
The children who are members of the Uitoto Indigenous community, were identified as Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy aged 13; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy aged 9; Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutuy aged 4; and Cristin Neriman Ranoque Mucutuy aged 12 months.
Earlier in the month of May, the Colombian President twitted what appeared to be a successful search and rescue mission but the happiness was subdued hours later when Petro deleted the tweet, acknowledging that the children had in fact not been found.
“I have decided to delete the tweet because the information provided by the ICBF (Colombian Institute of Family Welfare) could not be confirmed,” Petro wrote. “I regret what happened. The Military Forces and the Indigenous communities will continue in their tireless search to give the country the news it is waiting for.”
Separate groups of Indigenous communities that live across the Colombian Amazon joined the military in the rescue mission.
As reported “during the search, in an area where visibility is greatly limited by mist and thick foliage, soldiers on helicopters dropped boxes of food into the jungle, hoping that it would help sustain the children if they found the supplies”
