The miraculous incident happened in Colombia, where the youngsters have been reportedly found surviving in the Amazon forest after over a month of frantic search.
4 siblings, aged 13, 9, 5, and 1, found in forest 40 days after surviving plane crash [Video]
The discovery of four young siblings, aged 13, 9, 5, and 1 in a thick dangerous forest forty days after a plane they were travelling on with their mother crashed, killing three passengers including their mother, has left many people in shock.
Stock image: Thick forest
On May 1st, 2023, an engine malfunction forced a small Cessna 206 aircraft bound for San Jose de Guaviare to crash in the middle of one of Colombia's most inhospitable and hazardous locations. The disaster claimed the lives of the pilot and three other adults, but miraculously all four of the children on board survived. However, they were stuck in a jungle with hazardous snakes, spiders, and mosquitoes, where ex-Farc military men are still present, with little to no supplies, reports say.
Search parties, including volunteers, took the trouble to frantically comb the forest for the little siblings, a task that lasted them forty days before they finally found the kids last week in a clearing. This was after all hopes of finding them were almost dying.
Search parties sprung into action after the crashed plane together with three bodies, including the siblings’ mother was found in one of the thickest spots of the rainforest on May 16.
ADVERTISEMENT
In a bid to find the kids, hundreds of volunteers joined the search for them, combing various parts of the forest and launching supplies kits in an area of 323 sq km.
"The military was particularly involved in the rescue efforts, using helicopters to scan the jungle and hundreds of soldiers on the ground. They distributed over 10,000 flyers and hundreds of food kits, even in areas that the four siblings couldn’t possibly have reached on foot. In the end, 40 days, after the plane crash, a search party heard the cries of baby Cristin, who turned one during this ordeal and found the four siblings in a clearing about 3 miles from the plane crash," according to odditycentral.com.
Authorities have praised the boldness and intelligence of the oldest of the surviving kids, thirteen-year-old Lesly Mukutuy for her leadership in the forest and care for her younger ones.
ADVERTISEMENT
Although they have not been able to recount their experience about the entire traumatic incident yet, it is believed that Lesly's knowledge about plants and the dangers of the forest from their grandmother made her identify edible fruits, find water sources and avoid dangerous animals over the forty days they were helpless in the forest.
“We have to recognize not only her bravery but also her leadership. We can say that it was because of her that her three younger siblings could survive by her side, thanks to her care and her knowledge of the jungle,” the Colombian minister of defence, Iván Velásquez is quoted to have told journalists.
The youngsters are expected to be reunited with their family members who obviously can't wait to receive them, after being treated at a hospital in Bogota.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: news@pulselive.co.ke