Child survivors rescued after 40 days in Colombian jungle

Four siblings in Colombia who were left unaccompanied in the Amazon jungle after a charter plane crash have been rescued safely after 40 days. It was found that the 13-year-old eldest survived for over a month with her 9-year-old, 5-year-old, and one-year-old siblings. All four siblings were reported to be healthy.

According to The Associated Press and El Tiempo, a Colombian media outlet, on the 9th (local time), the Colombian military search team rescued four siblings, including the eldest, Leslie (13), that afternoon. It has been 40 days since the charter plane she was flying with her mother crashed on May 1 in the Amazon jungle in southern Colombia. The four siblings were found about five kilometers away from the crash site.

Colombian authorities believe the pilot and her mother, sitting next to each other, were killed when the charter plane hit the ground from the cockpit, but the four siblings sitting in the back seat were unharmed. The six-passenger charter plane was carrying six passengers, including the pilot and four siblings, at the time of the crash.

The four siblings who were transferred to the Central Military Hospital in Bogotá, the capital, are being treated. At the time of rescue, the children were malnourished, but there were no external injuries other than light scratches and insect bites. It is said that the four siblings, who are indigenous to South America's Huitoto tribe, had learned survival skills from their mother while growing up in the jungle, helping them survive the crash. "The children are expected to be discharged within two to three weeks," the hospital said.


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