The word “miracle” made our hearts quicken and activated our faith: General Sánchez
He said that during the 40 days that the four children were lost in the jungle, thinking about how they would be and what they could be suffering did not let him sleep.
Anguish was the faithful companion of the members of the search contingent of the four minors who for 40 days wandered through the jungles of Guaviare and the nights became eternal, especially due to the unanswered questions that surfaced and did not allow them to sleep .
Where will the 13, 9 and 4 year olds be, as well as the 11 month old? That was one of the questions that did not let General Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez, who heads the Joint Special Operations Command, sleep peacefully.
Then there was the following question: what needs will they have? And, all she could do was exclaim: “By God we must find them soon.”
He recalled that the word “miracle”, “miracle”, “miracle”, was the key to “Operation Hope”. “When we found the four minors, that word not only quickened the heart, but also activated something that seems incredible to some and that is faith. That key was reported to me by General Yor William Cotua”.
He pointed out that for the search for the four indigenous children in the heart of the jungle, between the departments of Caquetá and Guaviare, they had satellite images from the Colombian Air Force and Chile, Israel, as well as the United States and, of course, with the “wisdom” of the indigenous people and the experience of the Special Forces.
He explained that he was connected 24 hours a day with also General Cotua, commander of the Special Forces Division that directed “Operation Hope” on the ground.
The children Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13 years old; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9; Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4, and baby Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy, survived a plane crash that killed their mother, Magdalena Mucutuy, indigenous leader Herman Mendoza, and experienced pilot Hernando Murcia, on May 1.
According to the experts, the girl Lesly, the eldest, from the first moment she managed to get out of the plane and help her little brothers, took responsibility for getting them out of the place so that they could survive with the little they had on the plane and what they found in the middle of the thick jungle.
“We believe that when she saw her mother and the other two lifeless occupants, she preferred to flee the place to avoid the decomposition affecting them and also because it could attract wild animals,” said Otto Díaz, an expert in survival in difficult conditions.
The search
General Sánchez Suárez explained that for the Civil Aeronautics and for the rescue brigades that began the search for the Cessna 206 aircraft, registration HK 2803, which covered the Araracuara-San José del Guaviare route and which disappeared while flying over the Apaporis river, In the jungle between Caquetá and Guaviare, after reporting an engine failure at 7:34 in the morning, it was not easy.
As is known, the last report from pilot Murcia Morales was recorded when he was 175 kilometers south of San José del Guaviare and then all contact with the control tower was lost.
The officials of the Aerocivil, the search and rescue air patrol and UH-60 helicopters, Huey II, “Ghost” planes and C-208 Caravan flew thousands of hours.
Even on May 2, the children’s father, Manuel Ranoque, volunteered to help search for the aircraft and possible survivors.
On May 4, the Aerocivil and the FAC installed an Advanced Command Post, PMU, in a jungle area, where the last report of the pilot was recorded.
On May 5, Fátima, the children’s grandmother, recorded a message in Spanish and in the indigenous dialect, where she asked her grandchildren and survivors to be aware of the relief brigades.
On May 8, the General Command of the Military Forces ordered the displacement to the place of the search of 60 members of the Special Forces to support the work carried out by Civil Defense rescuers.
And, on May 15, the Aeronautics confirmed the discovery of the aircraft in the village of Palma Rosa, in the municipal understanding of Solano, in Caquetá. One of the seven passengers on the plane was found dead.
The next day, the rescuers found the remains of two other adult occupants of the plane, but no trace of the children.
On May 15, the members of the Special Forces found a kind of shelter where they would have protected themselves from the night and the rain. One of the dogs, Wilson, found the hood: In the place the troops found a bottle, some “bows” and a pair of scissors. The troops on the ground, indigenous and lifeguards, increase their search in different directions.
On May 18, the FAC’s “Ghost” plane joined the search efforts, launching flares to illuminate the area to help in the search for the children.
On May 20, the relief brigades and the Special Forces receive the support of another 50 troops to help in the search for the children. 85 indigenous people also joined. In total there are 250 people in the search: 150 soldiers, indigenous people and first responders.
On May 21, the network of Army stations with loudspeakers joined the search. The other days passed with the discovery of footprints and the shock at the disappearance of canine Wilson. However, thanks to this, Pastor Malinois led them to the place where the children were.
On May 24, the troops and indigenous people found new traces and clues of the children in two places. They found a pair of tennis shoes, a used diaper, and a green towel. In the other shelter another diaper was found, a pink lid from a bottle and a black frame from a cell phone. These traces would have been recorded between May 3 and 8.
On May 26, little Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy turned one year old.
On May 30, new clues were found, as the troops found footprints on the muddy ground, apparently from Lesly. Remains of wild fruits that the youngsters would have consumed were also found.
And, on June 9, the troops and the indigenous people found the four children safe and sound, although dehydrated.
Fireproof
General Sánchez said that there were 40 days of intense search and where all human and scientific knowledge was put to the test to find the children.
He highlighted the work of the Commander of the Special Forces Division, General Yor William Cotua, who coordinated the ground operations to search for minors.
General Sánchez Suárez pointed out that when the code word “miracle” was heard, “we immediately activated the entire plan to rescue them, starting with an aircraft that did the aeromedical evacuation, which was a helicopter called “Angel” because it is medicalized and also an AC plane. -47 to launch flares, because deep in the jungle is darkness, the night is absolutely black,” he said.
He narrated that “next to them was a Huey helicopter that arrived at the site and allowed the descent of some rescuers who provided first aid to our minors, after the combat nurses of our CCOES provided them with first aid and food. Parallel to this, a C-295 plane from our FAC was activated with the best specialists, pediatricians, newborn experts, nurses and a whole scientific team, simply to continue our operation. Today the four minors are in the Central Military Hospital”.
However, he specified that “this mission ends when our last man leaves and returns home, because their lives also count.”