Footprints And Half-Eaten Fruits: What Led To Missing Children Of Colombian Plane Crash

Colombian 'miracle' children survived a plane crash and were found alive 40 days after the crash in the jungles of the Amazon.

Four missing Colombian children of an Indigenous group were found alive in the country's south on Friday after the plane they were travelling in crashed in the thick jungle. The story has been hailed to be an "absolute survival" and "miracle." Children were the age of one, four, nine and thirteen.

President Gustavo Petro said finding the group was a "magical day", adding: "They were alone, they themselves achieved an example of total survival which will remain in history."

Colombian children found after plane crash:

On May 1 these children were travelling with their mother, a leader of an Indigenous group and were said to be fleeing threats by an armed group and were flying from Aracuara to San Jose when the pilot informed the engine failure.

Two weeks later, the crashed plane was found nose bent stuck vertically in the trees of the dense forest and the bodies of the pilot, mother, and leader were found whereas the four children were said to be missing.

Rescue Operation:

Since the plane crash, a team of 160 soldiers and 70 people from the Indigenous group with intimate knowledge of the forest were on a massive search mission for these children.

Rescuers recovered items left behind by the children, including a child's drinking bottle, a pair of scissors, a hair tie and a makeshift shelter.

Small footprints were also discovered, which led the search team to believe the children were still alive in the rainforest, which is home to jaguars, snakes and other predators.

Air Force dropped ten thousand flyers in the forest for children with tips for survival, food and water bottles, along with instructions for the children to stay put in their indigenous language as well as Spanish. 

Children were found three miles west of the site of a plane crash and were malnourished, and weak, and their bodies had bug bites. They were sent to a hospital in San Jose and are undergoing treatment.

How did they survive?

It is believed that children might have survived on the food that was dropped by the rescue team operations.

Members of the children's Huitoto community hoped that their knowledge of fruits and jungle survival skills give them a better chance of remaining alive.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the news on Twitter by sharing a photograph of the rescue operation by the military. He called it an "absolute survival" that will be marked in history. 

Petro also appreciated the coordination of military and indigenous people during the search mission calling it an "example of the alliance for the country to follow."

Image via REUTERS

Suggested Reading: Pilot Crash Lands Plane Without Wheels Safely: Reports Focus On Female