On Friday, June 9, the Colombian authorities said that the four children who survived a plane crash last month have been rescued alive from the Amazon rainforest. This brings an intense 40-day-long search operation named “Operation Hope” (Operación Esperanza) to an end.
The rescued siblings were alone and malnourished when the rescue team found them.
Taking to Twitter, Gustavo Petro, the President of Colombia shared a photo of the rescued siblings and the rescue team as he wrote, “A joy for the whole country! The 4 children who were lost 40 days ago in the Colombian jungle found alive.”
¡Una alegría para todo el país! Aparecieron con vida los 4 niños que estaban perdidos hace 40 días en la selva colombiana. pic.twitter.com/cvADdLbCpm
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 9, 2023
During a media interaction, President Petro lauded the rescued children as an “example of survival” adding that their saga will be remembered.
“They’ve given us an example of total survival that will go down in history,” President Petro said.
It is notable that the rescued siblings namely—Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13, Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9, Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4, and 11-month-old infant Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy were the only survivors of the tragic plane crash.
The siblings rescued from the forest belonged to the Huitoto Indigenous community. Despite being malnourished, none of the children were in critical condition, including the 11-month-old baby.
It has been suggested that because the survivor siblings were members of the indigenous Huitoto community, the education they got from their grandmother may have been helpful in their survival.
The rescued children have now been taken to San Jose de Guaviare for medical and psychological assessments.
The Cessna single-engine propeller plane carrying six passengers and a pilot declared an emergency due to engine failure in the wee hours of May 1.
Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia, the children’s mother, along with the pilot and an indigenous leader, was killed in the deadly crash. On May 16, two weeks after the crash, the crashed plane was found in a dense area of Colombian rainforest, and the bodily remains were recovered. The children, however, were not found at the spot. The disappearance of the children into the thick rainforest prompted the massive military-led search and rescue operation.
Days later, footprints, eaten fruits, and used napkins were found about 500 metres from the crash site. “Operation Hope” was immediately expanded, as 150 soldiers and 200 volunteers from nearby Indigenous tribes, as well as a squad of ten Belgian shepherd dogs, covering an area of over 323 square kilometres (125 square miles) joined the search operation.
Long-range speakers were mounted on the helicopter, which played an announcement in the Huitoto language from the children’s grandmother, informing them that the search was ongoing and asking them to remain where they were.
Around 5 p.m. on Friday, the army radio buzzed with “Miracle! Miracle! Miracle! Miracle!” shouts. A team of ten troops and eight Indigenous volunteers discovered new footprints and followed them to where the children were staying in a clearing.
On Saturday (local time), the Colombian military tweeted some pictures of the rescued children wrapped in thermal blankets along with a group of soldiers and volunteers posing with them.
#GeneralGiraldo: "La unión de esfuerzos hizo posible esta alegría para Colombia"
— Fuerzas Militares de Colombia (@FuerzasMilCol) June 10, 2023
Gloria a los soldados de las @FuerzasMilCol, a las comunidades indígenas e instituciones que hicieron parte de la #OperaciónEsperanza" pic.twitter.com/LO3BPldLgD
“#GeneralGiraldo: “The union of efforts made this joy possible for Colombia” Glory to the soldiers of the @FuerzasMilCol, to the indigenous communities and institutions that were part of the #OperaciónEsperanza,” Colombia’s military command tweeted.
