Colombian Air Force Transports Children Who Spent 40 Days In Jungles To Bogota

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th June, 2023) Colombian air force said Saturday that the children rescued after spending 40 days in the jungle after a plane crash are being transported to the Colombian capital, Bogota.

"Race for Life! Rescued indigenous minors are transferred from a helicopter... into a Colombian Air Force ambulance along with aeromedical transport experts. They're flying out... to Bogota," Colombian air force tweeted.

Earlier that day Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed that the four children who were passengers in the Cessna 206 plane that crashed in May and spent 40 days in the jungle have been found alive.

"From Operation Hope to Operation Miracle. Huge congratulations to the armed forces of Colombia and to those who stayed hopeful and worked day and night to make this miracle possible," Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said on Twitter.

He also thanked representatives of the indigenous communities of Siona and Araracuara, saying that their role in finding the children had been crucial.

The children found alive were dehydrated and had suffered from insect bites, Colombian newspaper Tiempo reported on Saturday, citing military sources.

The children � aged 13, 9, 4 and 1 � were found by soldiers and members of indigenous tribes, Colombian media reported on Friday.

A Cessna 206 aircraft that was flying from Araracuara to San Jose del Guaviare in the department of Caqueta in the south of the country reported an engine failure and sounded the alarm on May 1. It was discovered after more than 370 hours of searching. The pilot's body was on board, but the six passengers, four of them minors, were not in the cabin or in the vicinity of the plane. Tiempo reported that the two bodies found later belonged to co-pilot Herman Mendoza and passenger Magdalena Mukutui, mother of the four children.