SGGPO 06/10/2023 16:47

On June 9, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that four indigenous children had been found alive after more than a month in the Amazon rainforest since the plane they were on crashed.

The photo that President Petro posted on Twitter with the good news that 4 children were found alive. Photo: CNN

“This is a great joy for the whole country,” President Petro tweeted. His post included a photo of several men in military uniforms and children sitting in tents in the middle of the humid jungle. The children are aged 13, 9, 4 and 1.

Previously, on May 17, Mr. Petro shared on Twitter about finding the children, but later deleted the post, citing unconfirmed information.

Speaking to reporters on June 9, President Petro said: “The children are together, they are weak, let the doctors take care of them.” He also added that the children were able to protect themselves in the deep forest.

Rescue teams with sniffer dogs had earlier discovered half-eaten fruit that the children had eaten to survive, as well as makeshift shelters they had built from trees. About 160 soldiers and local groups had joined the search for the children.

The children, who are Uitoto natives, have been wandering in the forest since May 1 after the Cessna 206 plane they were travelling in crashed. The military also found the bodies of three adults, including the pilot, their mother and a relative, at the crash site.