Plane crash in Colombia: four children who survived 40 days in the jungle found alive

The four minors found in the jungle of Caquetá, Colombia, 40 days after the crash of the plane they were traveling on, were transferred overnight by the Air Force to San José del Guaviare and from there to Bogotà, where they are receiving medical treatment . The Defense announced that it was a complex operation due to the poor visibility due to the dense vegetation and the climate. The commander of the military forces, Helder Fernan Giraldo, thanked the indigenous communities for their contribution to search and rescue. Even the Minister of Defense, Ivan Velasquez, congratulated all those who contributed to the success of the operation: a group made up of about 150 elements of various armed bodies and relief organizations. The grandparents, Fatima and Fidencio Valencia, parents of Magdalena Mucutuy, the mother who died in the accident, have asked to be the first to see their grandchildren, who they intend to take care of. Of the four Mucutuy siblings, the eldest, Lesly, is 13 years old; follow nine-year-old Soleiny, four-year-old Tien Noriel and Cristin Neriman, who turned one during the terrible adventure. The minors, belonging to the huitoto group, would have managed to survive by feeding on fruit and vegetables.

On May 2.500, the small plane they were aboard, piloted by a man named Hernan Murcia, reported flight difficulties, before going missing. The family was headed by his father, Manuel Ranoque, who fled following threats received from a group of guerrillas. The flight had taken off from Araracuara and was to land in San José del Guaviare; it crashed about halfway along the route, near Cachiporro. Survivors were eventually found about five kilometers from the crash site, but in Operation Hope, rescuers walked more than XNUMX kilometers through the jungle.

After sixteen days of searching, the authorities found the wreck of the aircraft, a Cessna 206, stranded in the vegetation. Shortly before, the lifeless bodies of three adults, including the mother and the pilot, had been found. In addition to receiving a great deal of media attention, the Mucutuy brothers' case was also the cause of a momentary political controversy. On May 18, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, had published and then deleted from his Twitter profile a message in which he accounted for the finding of the minors, apologizing for having disseminated unconfirmed information. After the discovery, in a tweet, Petro rejoiced, speaking of "a joy for the whole country".