Four young siblings from Colombia have been reunited with their family after surviving 40 days in the Amazon jungle following a plane crash. The children, members of the Huitoto people, were found alive on Friday by a military sniffer dog and are now recuperating in a hospital in Bogotá.
Their grandfather, Fidencio Valencia, described them as “shattered but in good hands”, adding: “We were in the darkness, but now dawn has broken and I have seen the light.” An aunt, Damaris Mucutuy, said the children were in good condition despite dehydration and insect bites, and that mental health support had been offered.
The children, aged 13, nine, four and 11 months, were travelling with their mother from Araracuara to San José del Guaviare when the Cessna single-engine propeller plane crashed on 1 May after the pilot reported engine failure. The bodies of three adults were found two weeks later, but the children had vanished, prompting an intensified search involving 150 soldiers, dogs and Indigenous volunteers.
Survival was attributed to the eldest sibling, Lesly, who used knowledge of rainforest fruits passed on by her mother. The group ate cassava flour, or fariña, taken from the wreckage, then seeds and fruit such as avichure. Officials noted that the jungle was in harvest season, aiding their chances.
Gen Pedro Sánchez, who led the rescue, said search teams had passed within 20 to 50 metres of the children without spotting them. The youngsters told officials they had spent time with a Belgian Shepherd dog named Wilson, which remains missing. President Gustavo Petro visited the children in hospital, where they are being rehydrated and are expected to stay for at least two weeks.
