Four Indigenous children who had been missing for more than a month in the Colombian Amazon rainforest after a small plane crash have been found alive, President Gustavo Petro said Friday.
Issued on: 10/06/2023 - 07:02
3 min
Text by:
NEWS WIRES
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Video by:
Simone BRUNO
"Today we have had a magical day," Petro told the media in the capital Bogota after announcing their rescue.
"They are weak. Let's let the doctors make their assessment," he added.
The president earlier posted a photo on Twitter showing several adults, some dressed in military fatigues, tending to the children as they sat on tarps in the jungle. One rescuer held a bottle to the mouth of the smallest child, whom he held in his arms.
"A joy for the whole country! The 4 children who were lost 40 days ago in the Colombian jungle were found alive," he wrote on Twitter.
¡Una alegría para todo el país! Aparecieron con vida los 4 niños que estaban perdidos hace 40 días en la selva colombiana. pic.twitter.com/cvADdLbCpm
Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 9, 2023
Video shared by the Defense Ministry late Friday showed the children being pulled up into a helicopter as it hovered over the tall trees in almost complete darkness.
Originally from the Huitoto Indigenous group, the children -- aged 13, nine, four and one -- had been wandering alone in the jungle
since May 1, when the Cessna 206 in which they were traveling crashed.
More:
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20230610-colombia-children-found-alive-in-amazon-jungle-40-days-after-plane-crash