Two young indigenous brothers who were lost in the Amazon jungle for 26 days were found by a local tree cutter and have been rescued.

The pair are aged seven and nine, according to Amazonas’ State Government.

Brazilian brothers Gleicon and Glauco Ferreira, were found with severe malnutrition, dehydration and skin abrasions and will remain in hospital until they gain weight.

The pair were put in wheelchairs and taken onto a plane and transferred to a children’s hospital yesterday in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas.

In a written statement, Amazonas’ State Government said the children had been missing since 18 February and were located on 15 March.

The father of the two boys, Claudionor Ribeiro Ferreira, said the search was “difficult” and 260 people were looking for his sons including military police and other emergency services.

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“They were found when they heard a man cutting down a tree in the jungle moving. The smaller child screamed, this person went to where he was and managed to find them. When they got there, the brothers were lying down”, he said.

Brazil is home to around 60% of the Amazon, with the Amazonas state in northwestern Brazil covered almost entirely by the rainforest.

In 2008, a Brazilian student who was lost in the Amazon rainforest north of Manaus for more than 40 days was found by his father and died shortly afterwards.

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