() — The four children who had been missing for more than a month in Colombia, after the plane in which they were traveling crashed in the department of Guaviare, were found alive and arrived this Saturday morning in Bogotá in an air ambulance, as can be seen on the Fightradar24 tracking site.
A joy for the whole country! The 4 children who were lost 40 days ago in the Colombian jungle appeared alive. pic.twitter.com/cvADdLbCpm
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 9, 2023
President Gustavo Petro confirmed the news of the find earlier on Friday on his social media. “A joy for the whole country! The 4 children who were lost 40 days ago in the Colombian jungle appeared alive,” the president posted on his Twitter account, along with an image that appears to show search teams with the four children. .
The children, who appear emaciated in the images released by the authorities, are traveling in a Colombian Air Force ambulance, accompanied by four doctors who are treating them, including a pediatrician and a neonatologist, according to the institution. They are scheduled to land at the Military Transport Air Command in Bogotá.
Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13 years old; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9; Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4, and baby Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy were the only survivors of a plane crash on May 1.
His mother, Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia, died in the crash along with two other adult passengers: pilot Hernando Murcia Morales and Yarupari indigenous leader Herman Mendoza Hernández.
The subsequent disappearance of the children deep in the jungle prompted a massive military-led search operation, involving more than 100 Colombian special forces soldiers and more than 70 indigenous scouts combing the area.
For weeks, the search turned up only a few clues, including footprints, a dirty diaper and a bottle. Family members said the eldest daughter had some experience in the woods, but hopes faded as the weeks passed.
“They are an example of survival”
The Colombian Presidency posted on his Twitter account, citing Petrothat “indeed, the indigenous communities were searching and the Military Forces found the children after 40 days in the jungle of the #guaviare. They are an example of survival.”
Credit: Colombian Presidency
in statements later To the announcement, Petro said that the children were alone when they were found and that their “example of survival will go down in history.”
“They defended themselves. It is their learning from indigenous families, their learning of living in the jungle that has saved them,” Petro said.
Regarding the condition of the children, Petro said that they were receiving medical attention in San José Guaviare, where the first review would take place. “If the doctors advise it, they will be brought to Bogotá or Villavicencio, it depends on what the doctors decide,” she explained at the beginning.
Subsequently, Defense Minister Iván Velásquez indicated that this Saturday the minors would be transferred to the Bogotá Military Hospital to continue their recovery.
For his part, the indigenous leader Lucho Acosta, coordinator of the Indigenous Scouts of the Colombian Amazon, also confirmed the discovery of the four children.
“On behalf of the soldiers, and of all the authorities of the territory… everyone added a small effort so that this Operation Hope is a success, and we hope that the children come out alive and stronger than before. We have been waiting together with the strength of our forefathers, and our strength prevailed,” he said.
The Colombian Ministry of Defense tweeted: “The joy is enormous, the gratitude to our Military Forces will be eternal. We never stopped looking for them until the miracle came. #OperationHope”.
In addition, the United States Embassy in Colombia public on his Twitter account that “lhe four minors who survived the plane crash in Guaviare are the light of life and hope that illuminates Colombia. Thank you, @FuerzasMilColfor the heroic search and rescue mission in such difficult terrain and for bringing us this immense joy.”
“I want to hug my grandchildren,” says the children’s grandmother
María Fátima Valencia, grandmother of the four children found, expressed her desire to hug them, after the news of their discovery was known.
“I am going to hug all four of them, I am going to thank them all,” he told the media from Villavicencio. He also pointed out that he has recovered from the pain of losing his daughter in the accident “and now with that pain that I went through I am going to cheer them up, I am going to move them forward, I need them here, I want to hug my grandchildren, all four of them”, insisted.
“I am very grateful to the military, to our elders, to everyone who participated. I am very grateful to my God, I hope he gives them strength,” said Valencia.
The children’s grandfather, Fidencio Valencia, said they could not sleep while the children were missing.
“For us, this situation was like being in the dark, we were walking for the sake of walking. Live to live because the hope of finding them kept us alive. When we find the children we feel joy, we don’t know what to do, but we are grateful to God,” she said.
The children’s other grandfather, Narcizo Mucutuy, said he wants his grandchildren to return to Villavicencio where his family is.
“I beg the president of Colombia to bring our grandchildren to Villavicencio, here where the grandparents are, where their uncles and aunts are, and then take them to Bogotá,” he explained.
The difficulties of the jungle where the children disappeared
The story, which has grabbed national and international headlines, kept the country on edge as search efforts continued with few leads. In mid-May, the authorities claimed that there were indications that the minors were alive and began to leave food kits in the jungle so that they could find them.
Credit: Colombian Presidency
The jungle where they were looking for the children is between the departments of Guaviare and Caquetá, the border between the Amazon region in Colombia, a vast jungle area, and the Eastern Plains, sparsely populated territoriesdifficult access and where historically there has been a presence of insurgent groups.
9.9% of the population from Guaviare is indigenousaccording to figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE.
The department of Guaviare has an area similar to that of Swiss.
A first finding that did not happen
On May 17, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, tweeted that the children, aged 13, 9, 4 years old and one more than 11 months old, were found alive. But then he deleted the tweet and the next day he pointed out that the information given to him by the Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), which is in charge of child protection, had not been confirmed.
“I am sorry for what happened. The Military Forces and the indigenous communities will continue in their tireless search to give the country the news it is waiting for,” said the Colombian president in that message.
What would have been an extraordinary story of survival confused Colombians as government officials battled poor communications without direct contact with the children.
The director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), Astrid Cáceres, said at the time that her team received second-hand confirmation that search teams had rescued and identified the children. She added that she was “very sure” that the four children had been found, but she was awaiting further evidence.
With information from Mia Alberti, Mitchell McCluskey, Karol Suárez, Marlon Sorto and Hira Humayun.
