The incredible story of four children aged 1 to 13 who survived 40 days alone in the rainforest after a plane crash that killed their mother has captured the world’s attention.
Miraculously, the children were unharmed, suffering only from insect bites, dehydration and malnutrition before being found and rescued by the Colombian military after a huge search.
This achievement is all the more impressive given that the Amazon rainforest is home to all kinds of dangerous wildlife, including jaguars, pumas, snakes and other predators, as well as armed groups that smuggle drugs and terrorize people. local populations.
The siblings, Lesly, 13, Soleiny, nine, Tien Noriel, four, and baby Cristin, who celebrated his first birthday while lost in the rainforest, are from the indigenous Huitoto group, will have used a variety of survival techniques to stay alive.
The children’s story wowed the world and here MailOnline looks at how they survived 40 days in the wild – with no adults to help them.
Four indigenous children (pictured) missing for six weeks in the Colombian Amazon jungle after a plane crash have been found alive
The plane crash happened in Solano, Caqueta. The aircraft was found destroyed on May 16
The first signs of life:
The first signs that the children had not been killed in the May 1 small plane crash, which killed their mother, the pilot and a native chief, were small pieces of fruit left near the wreckage of the plane. ‘plane.
The small pieces of partially eaten fruit told researchers that human life had been nearby recently.
The fact that the children’s bodies were not found near the plane also raised hopes that they might have survived the crash, sparking a huge search and rescue effort.
Some 200 soldiers and natives familiar with the terrain combed through a dense jungle area of about 320 km2 (124 sq mi), about twice the size of Washington DC.
The crash is believed to have happened due to mechanical failure on May 1. The wreckage was found stuck in thick vegetation, after apparently diving into the jungle.
The deadly dangers they faced:
The Amazon rainforest, which covers only 1% of the planet’s surface, is home to 10% of all animal species we know today.
A new species is discovered in the Amazon, on average, once every three days.
Many of these animals can pose a risk to humans, including jaguars, cougars, snakes, and other predators. Smaller forms of wild animals, including insects such as mosquitoes, can also make a person very sick.
The children had been missing for over a month, sparking a massive search operation to find them
Apart from the risk to animal life, humans are also a threat in the jungle as criminal gangs dealing in drugs and illegally logging the rainforest terrorize the local population.
Without clean water and medical supplies, children risked infection if injured and contracting tropical diseases such as malaria, leprosy or viral hepatitis.
The children were lost during the rainy season, which sees average temperatures of 25°C (77°F), which could cause severe dehydration.
How they turned to the ancient jungle traditions of their people to survive:
The children are members of the indigenous Huitoto (or Witoto) group and learned jungle techniques from birth.
Their grandfather, Fidencio Valencia, said the children knew the jungle well, as they learned to hunt and fish from a young age.
Members of the indigenous community held traditional ‘talking to the jungle’ ceremonies and asking it to abandon the children during the desperate search.
The Huitoto, who had first contact with European conquests in the early 17th century, once comprised 100 villages and 31 tribes, although their numbers had dwindled to 50,000 by the early 19th century.
In the 1990s, trespassers on their land threatened the Huitoto way of life and their traditional style of slash-and-burn agriculture, so the Colombian government established several reservations for the Huitotos. Men hunt with blowguns and shotguns.
The culture has been studied for its durability and effectiveness as well as its focus on jungle relationships.
Ingenious tactics used by researchers to boost children’s morale:
Resourceful searchers, faced with an area larger than Washington DC to scour, have used a range of tactics to locate the missing children.
Their grandmother’s voice was played from an airplane over the jungle during the search to reassure frightened youngsters that they were wanted.
She then told reporters: ‘I never gave up hope, I always supported research. I am very happy, I thank President Petro and my ‘compatriots’ who have gone through so many difficulties.’
There was no sign of the youngsters when the wreckage of the plane was recovered by the Colombian army – prompting a huge search operation in the southeast of the country to find them.
Rescuers also dropped 10,000 flyers in the forest with instructions in Spanish and the indigenous Huitoto language of the children, telling them to stay put.
The leaflets also included survival tips, and the army dropped food parcels and water bottles for children.
Powerful searchlights were also shone in the area “so that the miners could approach us”, Colonel Fausto Avellaneda, a member of the search team, told the Noticias Caracol television program.
The clues that led to their discovery:
In photos released by the military, everyday items like a baby bottle, hair band and a pair of scissors can be seen on the jungle floor.
The children’s belongings helped reassure military searchers that they were still alive – and that search parties were closing in.
A photo released by the Colombian military showed a footprint found in the forest of a rural area in the municipality of Solano, Caqueta, in southeastern Colombia
A baby bottle and a pair of scissors were among the items rescuers found, giving them hope for survivors as they searched the jungle for missing children.
Sniffer dogs and three helicopters were deployed to search for the children, but wild animals, heavy rain and tall trees prolonged the rescue operation
Muddy footprints also helped indicate where the children were.
They also provided important olfactory clues to the search dogs that were deployed to find the children.
Three helicopters and sniffer dogs were deployed to join the search but bad weather during the rainy season, wild animals and tall trees had slowed efforts.
But on Friday the rescuers’ efforts were rewarded when one of the rescue dogs that had been on their trail led soldiers towards the group, the president confirmed.
