Colombian president visits children found in jungle five weeks after deadly plane crash

Four children who were missing for more than five weeks after a plane crash are in an “acceptable” state of health, the Colombian government has said.

On Saturday, President Gustavo Petro, first lady Veronica Alcocer and other officials visited the siblings at a hospital in Bogota.

They gave the children gifts and spoke to doctors and relatives about how the children were doing after their ordeal.

The three girls – aged 13, nine and one – and five-year-old boy were found on Friday in the deep depths of the jungle in Caqueta province after a deadly crash in which three adults, including the pilot, lost their lives.

At the time, Mr Petro said the children were found by one of the rescue dogs that soldiers took into the jungle.

The children were alone when the rescue team found them.

‘We never expected to find them so well’

“In general the boy and the girls are in an acceptable state. According to the medical reports they are out of danger,” defence minister Ivan Velasquez said during a news conference after the visit.

The children are not yet able to eat but are being hydrated and stabilised, he said.

The siblings’ great-uncle Fidencio Valencia said they were “very thin but I know they’re in good hands”.

“We never expected to find them so well,” he added.

Army Major General Carlos Rincon said the children had some insect bites and other minor injuries, but “life-threatening conditions are ruled out”.

Doctors said the one-year-old girl is in stable condition, but “requires more attention from the nutritional point of view, but here with our interdisciplinary team and the family, we will start this process, which is not a short but a medium and long term process”.

During the news briefing, Astrid Caceres, the director of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare, added: “They told us about the little dog that got lost, that they don’t know where it was and that it was accompanying them. We have spoken little about their experiences, but we have talked about how they feel.

“They don’t talk much and they are weak, although they want to play. When a child plays, it’s wonderful. They still don’t talk as much as you would like them to. Let’s give them time.”

The Colombian defence minister recognised the 13-year-old girl for her bravery and for taking care of her siblings – the youngest of which turned one while in the jungle.

During the rescue mission, soldiers found small clues that led them to believe the children were still alive.

They included a pair of footprints, a baby bottle, nappies and pieces of fruit that looked like humans had eaten them.

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The ordeal first began after the small Cessna single-engine propeller plane they were on fell off the radar in the early hours of 1 May.

Before the plane crash, the pilot declared an emergency due to an engine failure.

At the time the plane was found on 16 May, the children were nowhere to be seen.

Officials said the group of four children were travelling with their mother from the Amazonian village of Araracuara to San Jose del Guaviare when the plane crashed.

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