Rescuers have completed the search for four children who disappeared on May 1 in the jungles of Colombia after a plane crash.
The operation lasted 40 days, and all the guys 4, 9, 13 years old, and one year-old baby were found alive. They are emaciated, their bodies covered in insect bites. But none of them are in serious condition. The brothers and sisters were found only on Friday when soldiers and volunteers stumbled upon fresh footprints. Now the children are under the supervision of doctors.
It is believed that they survived thanks to the food kits that the searchers dropped. Jungle survival skills also played a role, because the guys belong to the local indigenous community. Instead of shoes, children wrapped cloth around their feet.
There were three other adults, including the pilot, on board a small Cessna 206 flying from Araraquara to San José del Guaviare. Their remains were found right at the crash site. Before the fall, the board reported problems with the engine.
The search went on in remote areas: there are almost no roads. But finds gave strength: a hut, scissors, shoes. The country was so worried about the fate of the missing that even Colombian President Gustavo Petro on May 17 took wishful thinking. He believed that the search was successful, but it turned out that this was not the case.