The four children lost 40 days in the jungle after a plane crash recover in Bogotá

After surviving a small plane crash and wandering lost for 40 days in the Amazon jungle of Colombiafour indigenous children were found alive in an unprecedented and miraculous operation and transferred in the early hours of this Saturday to Bogota to receive medical attention.

READ ALSO: How was Operation Hope with which the 4 children disappeared in the jungle of Colombia were found alive

One by one, wrapped in thermal blankets and on stretchers they were lowered from a plane of the Air Force at a military airport in the capital, confirmed AFP journalists.

At a temperature of 12 °C, military, natives, paramedics and three ambulances awaited them amid applause.

the brothers of the Huitoto community –Lesly, 13, Soleiny, nine, Tien Noriel, four, and Cristin, one–were the only survivors of a small plane crash on May 1, apparently due to mechanical failure.

The mother of the children, the pilot and a leader of the original community died.

Soldiers and indigenous people attend to children rescued after 40 days in the jungle in Guaviare, Colombia. (EFE).

“A joy for the whole country! appeared alive”wrote the Colombian president Gustavo Petro On twitter.

In the first images released, children are seen in the middle of the jungle next to a handful of soldiers and indigenous people. Two of the minors are lying on blankets and another is carried in their arms. All of them fragile-looking, thin and without shoes.

“They are weak. Let the doctors make their assessment.”Petro told the press in Bogota. The children were taken to a military hospital.

More than a hundred soldiers and indigenous people from the area, supported by sniffer dogs, followed the trail of the minors as they walked through the jungle between the southern departments of Guaviare and Caquetawhere the accident occurred.

Lesly, you have a nature”warrior”, he kept his younger brothers safe, he assured AFP Fatima Valenciathe children’s grandmother.

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“magical day”

The soldier in charge of the rescue, General Pedro Sanchezsaid that it was indigenous people who found the whereabouts of the minors.

“We found the children: miracle, miracle, miracle!”was the message he received, according to what he told the press.

The news of the lost children went around the world, with videos and photographs of the army on the day to day of the lookup in which they found makeshift shelters with branches, scissors, hair ties, shoes, clothes, a bottle, bitten fruits and footprints.

“Today we had a magical day that unquestionably full of joy. Get closer and touch peace in the agreement that advances with the THE N. And now I come back and the first news is that indeed the indigenous communities that were in search and the military forces found the children.”Petro told the press upon his return from Cubawhere he signed a six-month truce with the guerrillas of THE N.

Miracle in Colombia: The four children lost 40 days ago after a plane crash in the jungle are found alive. (@Ivan_Velasquez_ / Twitter).

The search was difficult because of the thick vegetation in the areawith trees that reach 40 meters in height, the presence of jaguars and snakes and the permanent rain that prevents hearing possible calls for help.

“I just want to see them, touch them”told AFP Fidencio Valencia, grandfather of the minors who was waiting for news with Fatima from the city of Villavicencio.

During the search the military they carried loudspeakers with a message in the mother tongue of the indigenous children asking them to stop so they could locate them.

READ ALSO: Gustavo Petro confirms the discovery of the four children in the Colombian jungle: “A joy for the whole country”

expected miracle

“In an unprecedented operation in the history of our country (…) something that seemed impossible was achieved”expressed the commander of the Military Forces, General Helder Giraldoin a message spread on social networks.

And added: “In order to locate them, our soldiers and indigenous people traveled approximately 2,656 kilometers”doing “possible the impossible”. This figure is equivalent to twice the distance between Bogota and Quitothe capital of Ecuador.

Dozens of uniformed men and indigenous people had to be relieved during the operation by the harsh climate and terrain. “We knew that this miracle was going to happen at any moment”Giraldo pointed out.

The general Sanchez had admitted in recent weeks that the minors were alive and close to the uniformed, although he admitted that his journey was “improbable”.

They finally found them just 5 kilometers from the site where the plane crashed.

for Petro “It is your learning of indigenous familiesfrom living in the jungle, which has saved them”.

In that region of difficult access by river and with no roads, residents often travel on private flights.

According to Indigenous Organization of Colombiathe Huitotos, natives of the area, live in “harmony” with the hostile conditions of the amazon and preserve traditions such as hunting, fishing and collection of wild fruits.

The minors boarded the plane with their mother on May 1 to flee from the dissidents of the peace agreement between the FARC and the government, who recruit and intimidate the inhabitants of the area, General Sánchez indicated.

Wilsona sniffer dog that was lost in the search operations, remains missing, Petro told reporters.

Source: Elcomercio