– They were together. They are exhausted, let the doctors treat them. They have been found and that makes me very happy, says Colombian President Gustavo Petro to reporters on Saturday night. He says that the children are an example of survival instinct, and that the stories about them will go down in history. The plane the children were on board crashed in the Amazon on 1 May, but the wreckage was only located on 16 May. The pilot, the children’s mother, and a local leader were found dead. Several sources now confirm to Reuters that the children are alive. – Today is a magical day, said Petro. The plane the children were in was found on 16 May. Three adults died in the plane crash in the Amazon. Photo: AP Reported find before In addition to looking for food, the children have stayed in a jungle where snakes, jaguars and other predators rule. Armed drug traffickers also stay in this area. Also once before, it was reported that the four children had been found alive, but on 17 May President Petro had to withdraw and apologize for what he had said then. The search for the four continued. Small footprints, a nappy and a half-eaten fruit were found and gave hope that the children had survived the crash. At least one of the four children must have some experience of surviving in the rainforest. Photo: COLOMBIAN MILITARY FORCES / Reuters A baby Previously, it was known that the rescuers believed that the children had started wandering through the jungle after the accident. They were found about five kilometers west of where the plane crashed. Among the children is an 11-month-old baby. The others are 13, 9 and 4 years old. Rescue workers have placed packages of food and supplies in the jungle in the hope that the children would find them. A loudspeaker was used to send messages to the children from their grandmother. She asked them to keep calm. The Air Force threw out 10,000 leaflets in Spanish and the local language, with instructions and survival tips. Food packages and bottles of water were also dropped from planes. 160 soldiers and 70 volunteers have taken part in the search operation. Photo: AP Experience with the rainforest saved them The children belong to the Huitoto indigenous population and are supposed to be siblings. Local authorities have said that the eldest child in particular had some experience of surviving in the rainforest. – The jungle saved them. They are children of the jungle, but now they are also children of Colombia, says Petro. Huitoto children learn to hunt, fish and gather food. The children’s grandfather said that the grandchildren are well known in the jungle, according to AFP. The radio network W Radio reports that the children are being transported out of the jungle in a helicopter. More than two hundred people, many of them indigenous, have taken part in the search operation. Many have taken part in the search operation in the rainforest in Colombia. Photo: AP
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