5 weeks after plane crash, 4 children rescued

Bogota, June 10

Four children from an Indigenous community in Colombia have been found alive in the country’s south more than five weeks after the plane they were traveling in crashed in thick jungle, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said.

The siblings were rescued by the military near the border between Colombia’s Caqueta and Guaviare provinces, close to where the small plane had crashed.

The plane — a Cessna 206 — was carrying seven persons on a route between Araracuara, in Amazonas province, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare province, when it issued a mayday alert due to engine failure on May 1.

Three adults, including the pilot and the children’s mother Magdalena Mucutuy, died as a result of the crash and their bodies were found inside the plane. The four siblings, aged 13, 9, 4, as well as a now 12-month-old baby, survived the impact.

Narcizo Mucutuy, the grandfather of the three girls and one boy, said he was delighted at the news of their rescue. “As the grandfather to my grandchildren, at this moment I am very happy,” he said. — Reuters