The Colombian military forces that make up ‘Operation Hope’ in conjunction with indigenous people from Guavire have reported the discovery of a footprint in the mud of the jungle that apparently belonged to one of the minors who disappeared at the scene after a plane crash on May 1.
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“This footprint is a fresh footprint that was approximately two kilometers from the last footprint we had and this gives us clues that the children are still alive,” said Colonel Fausto Avellaneda, a member of the government-appointed rescue team. Colombian.
The print would be that of Lesly Mukutuy, 13 years old, the eldest of the four missing siblings. Next to her were Soleiny Mukutuy, nine years old; Tien Noriel Ronoque Mukutuy, four years old, and the baby Cristin Neriman Ronoque Mukutuy, who a few weeks ago would have turned one year old.
Despite the fact that the ranks of the rescue forces have diminished in recent weeks, the hope of finding the minors alive remains latent. As reported by the authorities in charge, several findings found in recent days would show that the minors are still waiting to be rescued.
Search efforts don’t stop
“They found traces of fruits such as borojó, like wild mango, which are typical of the region and the troops have found them. We are showing that apparently the boys are consuming them,” Avellaneda declared.
The footprint and the remains of fruit add to discoveries that the rescue brigades —composed of approximately 300 soldiers and indigenous people who support the search— have reported in the past. Among these, two diapers, the casing of a cell phone and an improvised shelter that the children would have used stand out.
The rescue forces have used light reflectors and large speakers to try to locate the minors, although so far, the objective has not yet been achieved.
“With these visual and auditory guides, which were located at strategic points, it is intended that minors observe and listen to those lights and sounds in the dark nights so that they can reach the troops or make some type of signal that allows them to be located,” the armed forces mentioned in a statement last Monday.
The four brothers disappeared on May 1 when the plane they were traveling in, a Cessna 206, crashed in the Guaviare jungle, part of the Colombian Amazon. At the scene of the accident, the bodies of three adults who were traveling with the minors were found, among the deceased is the mother of the children.
Although on May 17, the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, published on his Twitter profile that the minors had been found alive by the rescue forces, the Colombian Army could not confirm the information and the president had to write himself. Since then, the search has been at the center of the country’s reflectors.
With EFE and local media
