For 40 days, the four children found Friday, June 9 in the Colombian jungle after the crash of the small plane in which they were traveling, wandered in the middle of thick vegetation leaving on their way precious traces for the military and indigenous people engaged in the search. Chronology of the incredible search operation deployed to find them.
The plane takes off on May 1 from Araracuara
On the morning of May 1, a small Cessna 206 aircraft belonging to Avianline Charters left an area of jungle known as Araracuara for San José del Guaviare (south), one of the main cities of the Colombian Amazon. On board the aircraft were the pilot, an indigenous chief, the four children aged 13, 9 and 4, as well as an 11-month-old baby at the time, and their mother.
A few minutes after the aircraft took off for a journey of some 350 km over the jungle, the captain reported an engine problem. The plane then disappears from radar. According to information released by the authorities, the children had flown with their mother to flee threats from guerrillas who had withdrawn from the peace pact signed by the FARC in 2016.
Soldiers discover traces left by children
Between 15 and 16 May, soldiers managed to find the plane in the south of the department of Caqueta. The device is vertical, the nose planted on the ground, in the middle of dense vegetation. The pilot was found dead in the cockpit. The indigenous leader and the mother of the family were also found dead, without the soldiers indicating exactly where.
The wreckage of the plane in the Colombian Amazon rainforest, May 19, 2023. -/AFP
A sniffer dog finds a bottle near the crash site.
The bottle found in the forest in a rural area of the municipality of Solano, May 17, 2023. HANDOUT / AFP
More than 100 soldiers are deployed in the area with the hope of finding at least one of the children alive. Dozens of natives from nearby villages, accustomed to moving through a jungle where thunderstorms are frequent and home to snakes, jaguars and other wildlife, join the search. Air Force helicopters fly over the area, broadcasting messages from the children's grandmother in their language, asking them to stop advancing so they can be found.
Shoes, clothes and freshly chewed fruit were found. About 2.5 kilometers from where the small plane crashed, the soldiers discovered a camp abandoned by the guerrillas.
A footprint found in the forest on May 18, 2023. HANDOUT / AFP
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The rescue operation dubbed "Hope" covers an area of about 323 square kilometers. Three weeks after the accident, two diapers and a pair of shoes were found. The army claims to have passed within 100 meters of the children. The search is then limited to an area of about twenty square kilometers.
On 17 May, soldiers came across a makeshift shelter made of branches. A dog reports a pair of scissors and a headband for hair.
The search operation continues. COLOMBIAN AIR FORCE / REUTERS
The same day, a few hours later, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on Twitter that the siblings had been found alive. The next day, however, he retracted and deleted his message. On May 26, military forces hold a symbolic celebration to celebrate the first birthday of Cristin, the youngest of the four children.
Wilson, a sniffer dog, also disappears
On June 8, as the search operation faded into the media due to a government crisis caused by an illegal eavesdropping scandal, the army announced that Wilson, a sniffer dog participating in the search, had also disappeared into the jungle. The dog, a six-year-old Belgian shepherd, is at the origin of the discovery of the bottle. According to an army bulletin, he was "disoriented" due to the "complex terrain". The soldiers found footprints that appeared to belong to the dog near those of the children. Several Colombian politicians are calling for the search for Wilson to continue.
The children are found on Friday, June 9, after 40 days
On Friday afternoon, June 9, President Petro announced on Twitter that the children had been found alive. His message is accompanied by a photo showing them surrounded by soldiers and natives. Their faces are emaciated.
In this photo sent by the Colombian presidency, the army's research team poses with the children, whose faces have been blurred. PRESIDENCY/REUTERS
According to the president, "they were alone, they got through it on their own." The children were found five kilometres from the crash site. Around 21 p.m., the Ministry of Defense announced that the children were being transferred by helicopter to San José de Guaviare, the nearest town, where their health would be assessed. The dog Wilson was not with them.
