The Surprising Story of Four Children Who Survived 40 Days in the Colombian Jungle
A military sniffer dog located the brothers belonging to the Huitoto indigenous community, after they had stayed for more than a month in an area teeming with snakes, mosquitoes and other creatures.
Photo Reproduction / Handout Colombian Air Force / Colombian Air Force / AFP
On Sunday (11), they were released by the Colombian authorities with new images of the moment when the four children, which were lost in the forest for a period of 40 days, were found on Thursday (09). This group of siblings, which includes a one-year-old baby, wandered through the jungle after surviving a plane crash that killed its mother and two other adults.
New images
In the images, it is possible to observe the four children, belonging to the Huitoto ethnic group, who are malnourished and weakened, being examined by the rescuers. The rescue was carried out through anAirbus Casa C-295, an aircraft designed to operate as an air link. On board the plane were four doctors, including a neonatologist, a pediatrician and two doctors specializing in aerospace medicine, responsible for the children's initial estimates.
Moment of rescuing the four children - Photo: Handout Colombian Air Force / Colombian Air Force / AFP
The rescue
On Friday night, in a remote location in the heart of the Colombian jungle, army radios echoed with the message so awaited by the nation: "Miracle, miracle, miracle, miracle". Military code revealed that four children, missing in the wild for 40 days, were found - all alive. The Armed Forces of Colombia and President Gustavo Petro confirmed this information.
"The four indigenous children were rescued alive today in the jungles of southeastern Colombia. They had been missing for 40 days after the crash of a small single-engine plane they were traveling in, ending a search by air, land and rivers," said officials from the Military Forces of Colombia, in a post on Twitter.
The search for the children involved around 150 soldiers and 200 volunteers from local indigenous communities, in an extensive area of more than 300 square kilometers (124 square miles). According to a rescuer interviewed by Colombia's RTVC, the first words of the eldest daughter, Lesly, who was holding the baby in her arms, were: "I'm hungry." One of the rescuers reported that one of the boys, who was lying down, got up and said: "My mother passed away".
O Colombia's Ministry of Defense released a video in which children are rescued in a helicopter, amidst the darkness of the tall treetops. They were then transported to Bogotá, the country's capital, where the complaints were taken to the hospital to receive additional medical care. The children were dehydrated, with insect bites and small injuries, especially on their feet, due to walking barefoot over long distances.
"At this time, the Colombian Air Force Commandos took the 4 children out of the dense jungle. The helicopter is more than 60 meters high. The trees are very tall and the visibility is almost zero. They go to the helipad set up in the middle of the jungle for this operation. From the helipad they head to Calamar. They refuel and head to San José del Guaviare to take the children to the municipal hospital, where the medical team of the Fuerzas Militares de Colombia and Operation Hope will continue", says the publication of the organ.
In an interview shortly after announcing the rescue in a post on social media, Petro declared: "It is an extraordinary gift for Colombia, a gift for life, our boys who were cared for by the jungle." The search operation in the jungle, called "Esperança", had the participation of military personnel and indigenous people.
The children's mother
The mother of four young brothers fought for his life for four days after the fall from the plane, before asking her children to leave her, hoping to increase their chances of being rescued. As more information emerged about the children's incredible survival story, details about the woman's last days came to light. On Sunday, Manuel Ranoque, the father of two of the children, told reporters that his wife, Magdalena Mucutuy, survived the accident but died after four days.
“My daughter told me that their mother had been alive for four days,” said Ranoque.
“Before she died, she told them, 'Maybe you should go. You're going to see the kind of man your father is, and he's going to show you the same great love that I showed you.'
The children
The minors are from the Uitoto Indian tribe and are respectively 13, 9, 4 and 1 year old. The baby, Cristin Mucutuy, turned one year old during his time in the jungle. The brothers are Lesly Mucutuy (13 years old), Soleiny Mucutuy (9 years old) and Then Mucutuy (4 years old).
Fidencio Valencia, the children's great-uncle, reported that the brothers managed to stay alive by consuming fariña, also known as cassava flour, and utilizing their knowledge of the fruitful resources of the rainforest.
“When the plane went down, they took flour [from the wreckage] and with that they survived,” he told reporters outside the hospital, where they are expected to remain for at least two weeks.
“After the flour ran out, they started eating seeds,” added Valencia.
The children seem to owe their survival to their older sister, Lesly, who protected and nurtured them using the knowledge of the rainforest passed down from their mother. During this difficult period, the children also had luck on their side. Astrid Cáceres, director of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, explained that young people were able to feed on fruit due to the abundance of crops in the jungle.
Accident
The plane crash happened in early May. On board were four children along with their mother, as well as two adults identified as Hernando Murcia Morales, the plane's pilot, and Mucutuy Valencia, an indigenous leader who acted as co-pilot.
Aircraft wreckage in the Colombian Amazon - Photo Reproduction / Fuerzas Militares de Colombia
The plane crash occurred on the 1st of May around 7:30 in the morning, during the journey between Araracuara and San José del Guaviare, in Colombia. The pilot reported an engine failure prior to the incident. According to Colombian authorities, the last known position of the aircraft was about 175 miles (approximately 282 km) short of its destination, on the Apaporis River, located in the Amazon jungle. Since then, the plane's whereabouts were unknown until May 16, when the wreckage was found.
Shortly after the crash, the country's Armed Forces began a search operation in the area. More than 60 trained men and guests were initially assigned to carry out the search. The bodies of the three adults were found at the site, but not the children, having been reported missing since then.
The local press reported that this same aircraft had already suffered an accident in Los Llanos Orientales on July 12, 2021, according to official information.
Searches
The search for the children was extremely complicated due to the adverse conditions in the Amazon region, which made survival an arduous task. Authorities and neighboring communities scoured the area thoroughly for clues. During the operation, helicopters carrying soldiers dropped boxes containing food into the jungle, in the hope that this would contribute to the survival of the children. Aircraft flying overhead fired flares to aid rescuers on the ground overnight, while rescuers used loudspeakers. playing a pre-recorded message by grandma of the brothers, instructing them to remain in the same place.
On May 15, 14 days after the accident, search services found the incident site, a baby bottle and a bottle positioned on top of some bushes, as well as scissors and a chopped apple, suggesting that the children had survived. Dogs were used to carefully search the entire perimeter for clues. A few hours later, a passion fruit cascade was discovered, indicating consumption by humans.
On May 16, at 10 am, the military found an improvised shelter made of sticks and stones, where it is believed that the children had temporarily taken care of the baby. The following morning, at 8:00 am on May 17, scissors and hair ribbons were found that, according to the military, could possibly belong to the children. A few hours later, army representatives discovered small footprints.
The sniffer dog that was helping in the search for the children is missing in the woods - Photo Reproduction / Fuerzas Militares de Colombia
According to General Pedro Sánchez, responsible for the rescue operation, it was found that the children were located in a small clearing in the forest, approximately 5 km from the crash site. He explained that the rescue teams were at a distance of 20 to 50 meters (66 to 165 feet) from the point where the children were found on some occasions, but unfortunately, they were unable to locate them.
“The youngest children were already very weak,” Sánchez said. “They were just strong enough to breathe or pick a small fruit to feed on or drink a drop of water in the wild,” he said.
The children may have been fearful of the uninformed search party due to previous threats their father received from members of a splinter unit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Colombian rebel group that has since been demobilized. "They were apprehensive outside, with the dogs barking", reported the children's great-uncle. He added that they hid among the trees and managed to escape.
