Four indigenous boys have been found in the Colombian Amazon jungle after being lost there for 40 days. The children had survived a plane crash and were taken to Bogotá to receive medical attention.
They are four siblings: Lesly, 13 years old; Soleiny, nine; Tien Noriel, four; and Cristin, of one. They belong to the Huitoto community and were the only survivors of a plane crash that occurred on May 1, presumably due to a mechanical failure. In that accident the mother of the children, the pilot and a leader of the original community perished.. Lesly, the older sister, was the one who led the boys during their odyssey in the jungle, according to the children’s grandmother.
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 governmentwho recruit and intimidate the inhabitants of the area, indicated General Sánchez.
“A joy for the whole country! They turned up alive”Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter when it was learned that the boys were found alive.
In the first images released, the children are seen in the middle of the jungle together with a handful of soldiers and indigenous people. Two of the minors are lying on blankets and another is carried in their arms. All frail looking, skinny and shoeless. “They are weak. Let the doctors make their assessment,” Petro told reporters in Bogotá.
More than 100 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 Caquetáwhere the accident occurred.
The soldier in charge of the rescue, General Pedro Sánchez, said 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.
“Today we have had a magical day that undoubtedly fills with joy. Get closer and touch peace in the agreement that is advancing with the ELN. And now I return and the first news is that indeed the indigenous communities that were in search and the military forces found the children,” Petro told reporters upon his return from Cuba, where he signed a six-month truce with the guerrillas of THE N.
How was the search?
The search was difficult due to the thick vegetation in the area, with trees that reach 40 meters in height, the presence of jaguars and snakes and the permanent rain that prevents hearing possible calls for help.
The military they carried loudspeakers with a message in the mother tongue of indigenous children asking them to stop so they could locate them.
According to the Army, troops traveled 2,656 kilometers trying to track down the children. Twice the distance equivalent to that between Bogota and Quito, the capital of Ecuador. Dozens of uniformed soldiers and indigenous people had to be relieved during the operation due to the harsh weather and terrain. They finally found them just 5 kilometers from the site where the plane fell. For Petro, “it is his learning from indigenous families, from living in the jungle, that has saved them.”
In this region of difficult access by river and without highways, the inhabitants usually travel in private flights. According to the Indigenous Organization of Colombia, the Huitotos, natives of the area, live in “harmony” with the hostile conditions of the Amazon. and they preserve traditions such as hunting, fishing and the gathering of wild fruits.
