Four indigenous children who survived 40 days in the Colombian Amazon after a plane crash have been released from hospital, authorities said Friday.
After a month of treatment, the brothers are “very well,” the director of the country’s Family Welfare Institute told reporters.
“They are actually very well,” said director Astrid Caceres, adding that the children have all grown.
Lesly, 13, Soleiny, 9, Tien Noriel, 5, and Cristin, 1, all survived after the small plane they were riding in crashed in the forest.
Their mother and two other adults died in the incident.
Understanding the forest helps children survive
The four children who survived so far have no physical effects from the 40 days they spent in the Amazon, Caceres said.
He added, even little Cristin “completely recovered in terms of physical development.”
Officials and relatives praised the knowledge of the Indigenous children in the forest and Lesly’s bravery for their survival in the forest with its many inherent dangers – including snakes, predatory animals and armed criminal groups .
It took nearly 200 military and Indigenous rescuers with search and rescue dogs to track them down. They were rescued on June 9 and taken to a military hospital in Bogota for treatment.
The Family Welfare Institute will temporarily take custody of the children due to a “complicated family situation” that has seen a custody dispute between the father of the two younger children and their maternal grandparents.
call/sms (AFP, Reuters)
