New evidence indicates that a group of four children could still be alive in the Amazon jungle one month after a plane crash left them stranded.
It's the stuff nightmares to be travelling across dangerous jungle in a small plane, only to crash. As if the crash itself wasn't bad enough, you'd then be stranded in a very hostile environment.
Unfortunately, four children are facing just that after a light aircraft they were travelling in crashed in the Amazon jungle in Colombia.
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The flight departed from the Araracuara area on a 350km journey to the town of San Jose del Guaviare on May 1, located in the Colombian Amazon.
Lesly, 13, Soleiny, nine, Tien Noriel, four, and Cristin, an infant, are thought to have been travelling in the aircraft when the engine failed, resulting in the plane crashing into the depths of the Amazon jungle.
A search found the wreckage of the plane some two weeks later on May 15 and 16, with the plane being wedged into the thick vegetation vertically with the nose destroyed.
The bodies of the pilot, an indigenous leader and the children's mother Magdalena Mucutui Valencia were sadly found - but there was no sign of the four children.
However, one month on since the tragedy, rescuers believe that the four children may still be alive against all the odds.
When the Colombian military arrived to investigate the crash, they found a potential trace of the children in the discovery of a footprint in the mud.
Army officials believe is that of 13-year-old Lesly.
An enormous rescue operation involving more than 100 people has since been launched in southeast Colombia.
Members of the Huitoto indigenous community, of which the children are members, have also expressed hope that their knowledge of jungle survival skills and fruits will help them to survive.
Flyers have also been dropped into the jungle in both Spanish and the children's Huitoto mother tongue telling them to stay put, along with survival tips, as well as parcels of bottled water and food.
General Pedro Sanchez, who is leading the rescue team, told W Radio on Monday: "Based on the evidence, we concluded that the children are alive.
"If they were dead, it would be easy to find them because they would be still and the sniffer dogs would find them."
Some 200 soldiers with sniffer dogs and local indigenous people with knowledge of the terrain continue to search for the children.
The area is home to numerous dangers, including wildlife such as jaguars, pumas, and snakes, as well as dangerous militia groups involved in drug smuggling.
Topics: World News
Kit Roberts