Compiled: Mintina
Aerial photograph of the dense rainforest in Colombia
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
On Wednesday, May 17, the Colombian government announced that four Huitoto children had been rescued 17 days after the plane crashed and disappeared into the jungle. However, the report's contradictory content and lack of video support call into question the celebration. At the time of writing, the fate of the children was still unknown.
On Wednesday night, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said of a successful rescue in an update to his Twitter account, writing, "After a difficult search by the army, we found four children who disappeared in a plane crash and are still alive." The whole country cheered for it. ”
Soon after, local media reported that military sources had not confirmed the search and rescue campaign. On Thursday, Chairman Petro deleted the tweet.
"I decided to delete this update because of the information provided... or not confirmed," Petro wrote on his Twitter account shortly after the deletion. "I'm very sorry for what happened. The military and indigenous communities will continue to work tirelessly to bring the country the news it has been waiting for. At this moment, our most important task is to search and rescue these missing children until people find them. Their lives are the most meaningful thing. ”
According to the Colombian newspaper, El Espectador, the contradictory news came after a director of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute area told the president that the children were rescued and only slightly injured. However, El Espectador reported that the person in charge also obtained information from others, which led the chairman to issue his own statement.
Colombian troops, military dogs, local indigenous groups and others joined forces to search
Photo courtesy of the Grubian State Army
But according to CNN quotes, some low-ranking officers insisted the news was true and that the children were on their way downstream in a boat.
"What I heard was that they were doing well and we understood that they had some really difficult days, however, the kids were walking around the area and they didn't seem to have much of a problem," Astrid Caceres, head of the Columbia Institute for Family Welfare/ICBF in Colombia, told the outlet.
Meanwhile, search and rescue teams that continue to operate include military dogs, local indigenous groups, military personnel, and local agencies.
"We are still missing the final, final part that confirms all our expectations. We won't stop until we see pictures of the children. We're not ignoring the news we've received, but we want to confirm [personally]," Caceres told CNN.
A jungle tragedy
The Guardian newspaper reported that the four children were 13, 9, 4 and 11 months old. They disappeared after a Cessna 206 aircraft from Avianline Charters SAS crashed due to mechanical failure. The plane crash left three adults on board, the pilot, the child's mother, and another adult), leaving behind four children. By the time the rescue team arrived at the scene, the children had left the scene of the accident, leaving behind some personal belongings and other clues.
Some items left by the kids before entering the jungle
Photo courtesy of the Civil Aviation Administration of Colombia
One clue is that "the fruit that has been bitten in the forest," a Colombian official told ABC International.
According to media reports, other items included headbands, clothes, a feeding bottle, scissors and shoes.
Spread hope
As weather conditions improved, three helicopters circled the dense woods in the Guaviere area of Amazonas province. Rescue teams placed rattles on a plane to broadcast with Huitoto content recorded by the children's grandmothers.
According to ABC International, the grandmother encouraged her grandchildren as the search continued, asking them not to continue moving around the jungle.
"We pray to (the gods) that for hours we will wait for the news we are expecting to see these children," Giselle Lopez, co-owner of Avianline Charters SAS, told CNN Media.
Lopez went on to explain that severe storms, as well as the loss of signals and difficulty in crossing rivers, may have made the search difficult.
Information to ship; Andrew Marshall