More than 100 soldiers helped by sniffer dogs are on the trail of four children missing in the jungle in Colombia after the crash of the small plane in which they were with three other occupants found dead, the army said Wednesday.
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Efforts to find the four minors, aged 13, 9, 4 and an 11-month-old baby, have intensified in recent hours, after new clues were discovered," the army said in a statement.
Presence of wild animals
The children could have been wandering for more than 15 days in the Amazon jungle between the department of Caqueta, where the plane was found, and that of Guaviare, in the south of the country. The aircraft, a Cessna 206, had disappeared from radar on May 1 in the vicinity of San José del Guaviare. The authorities were only able to find him earlier this week and announced the discovery of the lifeless bodies of the three adults, including that of the pilot inside the aircraft.
Rescue teams have discovered a "makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches" and believe there may be at least one survivor, the army said in its statement. Photos released to the press show scissors and a label of what appeared to be a hair band, new clues to guide rescuers.
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Already on Tuesday, the authorities had announced that they had found personal belongings, as well as partially eaten fruit. A bottle was found near the aircraft. However, the jungle is very dense and dangerous in this particularly difficult to access region. The search is made difficult by the presence of wild animals, trees up to 40 meters high and heavy rains.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. According to civil protection, the pilot had reported problems with the aircraft's engine before it disappeared from radar. Photos released by the military show the plane vertically in the middle of dense vegetation, its nose crushed to the ground.
