Colombian authorities have found alive the four children who had disappeared in a plane crash in the jungles of southern Colombia 17 days ago in a small plane carrying three other adults, whose bodies were found dead.
The children found are Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9; Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutuy, 4, and Cristin Neriman Ranoque Mucutuy, 11 months.
President Gustavo Petro confirmed the news through his social networks. According to him, the children were found safe thanks to the work of the armed forces.
Last Monday the aircraft was located in a rural area of the hamlet Palma Rosa, which is part of the municipality of Solano (Caquetá), with three of its occupants deceased.
The area where the accident occurred is a thick and rainy area that makes more difficult the search work carried out by more than 100 members of the Military Forces, along with 3 dogs trained in search and tracking, as well as indigenous people of the region, all supported by helicopters.
Dogs working in the search in the jungle. AFP Photo
The slopes
In a joint statement, the Civil Aeronautics (Aerocivil) and the Army reported that in the last hours and thanks to the guidance of the dog Ulises, "the Special Forces located what would be a shelter built in an improvised way with sticks and branches."
One of the findings in the search. AFP Photo
The information detailed that they were also found some "scissors and some 'moñitas' that women usually use to hold the hair," and even pieces of fruit that supposedly could be consumed by children.
All this, says Aerocivil, continues to "fill with courage and hope" since it is "a new indication to guide them in the search and rescue work of the aircraft that crashed 17 days ago, and that denotes the strength of these minors to survive despite the tragedy and in the middle of the jungle."
Earlier, in another place, a dog that is part of the search found a bottle, which is presumed to have been used to feed the baby.
The Aerocivil considered at that time that "the hope of finding alive" the three children and the baby "remains intact."
The plane was found upside down, indicating that the crew may have attempted to make an emergency landing on gigantic trees with huge roots.
A bottle found in the search. AFP Photo
The search
Three helicopters participated in the search work, one of them equipped with a powerful speaker, capable of covering an area of about 1,500 meters, which transmitted messages in the Huitoto language, recorded by the children's grandmother.
In those messages, the grandmother told the children to try to stay in one place so that those who seek them have a better chance of finding them.
"Lesly, I ask you a favor, that I am your grandmother Fatima. You have to be quiet because the Army is looking for you for your good. Daughter, I thank you for being still. If you hear microphones, daughter, be standing there so they can find you and bring you," the audio reads, according to the newspaper El Tiempo.
The plane, operated by Avianline Charter's, was flying between Araracuara, a remote town on the border between the departments of Caquetá and Amazonas, and San José del Guaviare, when an emergency was declared.
From that moment on, a search and rescue plan was deployed that continues with the hope of finding the children.
Source: EFE and Clarín
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