Four children aged 11 months to 13 years were found in the jungle – 40 days after going missing following a plane crash.
Colombian President Gustav Petro confirmed searches by local indigenous communities and the Colombian military had ended after all four children were found alive.
They were discovered not far from where the Cessna 206 crashed. Three adults on board, including the pilot, died in the crash.
Rescuers were confident the children, aged 13, nine, four and 11 months, were still alive after discovering the discarded fruit that the youngsters had eaten to survive.
Rescuers had also uncovered improvised shelters made with jungle vegetation during efforts to follow their tracks.
#GeneralGiraldo: "La unión de esfuerzos hizo posible esta alegría para Colombia"
Gloria a los soldados de las @FuerzasMilCol, a las comunidades indígenas e instituciones que hicieron parte de la #OperaciónEsperanza" pic.twitter.com/LO3BPldLgD
— Fuerzas Militares de Colombia (@FuerzasMilCol) June 10, 2023
The children have now been taken to the capital, Bogota, to be checked by doctors.
President Petro described the discovery as a “joy for Columbia”.
“It was them who achieved a great exemplary survival. It will become history,” he said.
“These children are today the children of peace and the children of Columbia.”
The children were travelling with their mother from the Amazonian village of Araracuara when the plane crashed.
They are members of the Huitoto people, and officials said the oldest children in the group had some knowledge of how to survive in the rainforest.
Main image: Colombian Military Forces attending to the four children discovered in the jungle. Image via the Military Forces of Colombia.
