The four children who had been lost since May 1 in the jungles of southern Colombia after the plane crash in which they were traveling along with three adults were found alive this Friday, June 9, 2023 by soldiers who participated in their search. .
The four brothers are Lesly Mukutuy, 13 years old; Soleiny Mukutuy, 9; She has Noriel Ronoque Mukutuy, 4, and baby Cristin Neriman Ronoque Mukutuy, 1.
“A joy for the whole country! The 4 children who were lost 40 days ago in the Colombian jungle appeared alive,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on his Twitter account, who thus confirmed the news announced minutes before by Caracol Radio.
The minors, brothers to each other, were found in a remote point between the departments of Caquetá and Guaviare where they were searched without rest for weeks by some 200 soldiers, including commandos of the Army Special Forces, and indigenous people from various tribes familiar with the jungle.
The news expected by the country
As soon as he got off the presidential plane from Havana, where a temporary bilateral ceasefire agreement was signed this Friday with the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN), Petro confirmed the news to the country.
“Now that I am back, the first news is that indeed the indigenous communities that were in the search and the Military Forces jointly found the four children alive after 40 days,” Petro said.
The Army released several photographs in which the four minors are seen sitting in a clearing in the middle of the jungle, covered with blankets and surrounded by soldiers and indigenous people.
In general, the four are in good health, although they look emaciated and malnourished, something natural after the odyssey they have experienced.
The four children were traveling with their mother, another adult and the pilot of a Cessna 206 plane operated by the Avianline Charter’s company that crashed on May 1.
The three adults died in the accident and their bodies were found several days later, but the four children, from an indigenous community, survived.
«I was alone. They themselves achieved an example of survival that will remain in history, so today those children are the children of peace,” added the president.
Since the plane was found, a gigantic search operation began for the four children, during which the military and indigenous people walked thousands of square kilometers of jungle and made numerous helicopter and airplane flights until today they were finally found.
A military helicopter was sent to the place where the children were found to take them out of the jungle and transfer them to an urban center.
Petro, who described the finding as “a gift to life,” added that depending on the medical evaluation, the children will be transferred tomorrow to San José del Guaviare, the capital of Guaviare, or to Bogotá and he hopes to visit them shortly. EFE