Cassava flour and fruit kept 4 children alive for 40 days after plane crash in Colombia's jungle

[Judi Lynn]

MANUEL RUEDA and REGINA GARCIA CANO
Associated Press Jun 10, 2023 Updated 2 hrs ago

BOGOTA, Colombia — Four Indigenous children survived an Amazon plane crash that killed three adults and then braved the jungle for 40 days before being found alive by Colombian soldiers, bringing a happy ending to a search-and-rescue saga that captivated a nation and forced the usually opposing military and Indigenous people to work together.



Military personnel unload from a plane one of four Indigenous children who were missing after a deadly plane crash, Saturday at the military air base in Bogota, Colombia.

John Vizcaino, Associated Press


Cassava flour and some familiarity with the rainforest's fruits were key to the children's extraordinary survival in an area where snakes, mosquitoes and other animals abound. The members of the Huitoto people, ages 13, 9 and almost 5, are expected to remain for a minimum of two weeks at a hospital receiving treatment after their rescue Friday.

Family members, President Gustavo Petro as well as government and military officials met the children Saturday at the hospital in Bogota, the capital. Defense Minister Iván Velásquez told reporters the children were being rehydrated and cannot eat food yet.

“But in general, the condition of the children is acceptable,” Velásquez said. They were traveling with their mother from the Amazonian village of Araracuara to San Jose del Guaviare when the plane crashed in the early hours of May 1.

The Cessna single-engine propeller plane was carrying three adults and the four children when the pilot declared an emergency due to an engine failure. The small aircraft fell off the radar a short time later and a search for survivors began.

“When the plane crashed, they took out (of the wreckage) a fariña, and with that, they survived,” the children’s uncle, Fidencio Valencia told reporters outside the hospital. Fariña is a cassava flour that people eat in the Amazon region.

More:
https://statesville.com/news/cassava-flour-and-fruit-kept-4-children-alive-for-40-days-after-plane-crash-in/article_27b7a081-b317-5b36-99c9-27da53720526.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. How fortunate those children are, knowing what they know about staying alive. A miracle! nt

[FloridaBlues]

2. What an incredible story their mother's spirit stayed with them I'm sure

Here’s hoping they heal as soon as possible and retur. To family. Thank you for posting.

[Desert grandma]

3. What an amazing story of survival.

This was a miraculous recovery of these children. The partnership of two former adversaries, the indigenous tribal members and the military and their joint efforts to find these children was just wonderful.

[Judi Lynn]

4. 'Miracle, miracle': lone children survive 40 days in Amazon jungle

Mat Youkee in Bogotá, and Emma Graham-Harrison
Sat 10 Jun 2023 14.45 EDT

Afew tantalising clues kept the rescuers going. The remains of fruit with bitemarks made by small human teeth, a pair of scissors and nappies in the rainforest mud. All offered hope that four children, who had miraculously survived a plane crash that killed their mother, the pilot and the only other adult on board, also survived the dangers of the Amazon.

The oldest was only 13 when the plane went down on 1 May in southern Colombia. The youngest would mark his first birthday lost under the dense green canopy of trees and vegetation, alive with jaguars, poisonous snakes and other threats.

The children are Lesly Jacobo Bonbaire, 13; Solecni Ranoque Mucutuy, 9; Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutuy, 4; and Cristian Neryman Ranoque Mucutuy, now one.

. . .

The education the children got from their grandmother, a respected elder in the Araracuara indigenous territory, was almost certainly vital to their survival.

“This is a virgin forest, thick and dangerous,” John Moreno, an Indigenous leader from nearby Vaupés, told local media outlet Cambio.

“They would have needed to draw on ancestral knowledge, in order to survive.”

In addition to evading jungle predators, the children had survived heavy storms, and the area also hosts armed groups.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/10/colombian-children-found-alive-five-weeks-after-amazon-jungle-plane-crash

[2naSalit]

14. ...

Guess my guess was a good one.

They wouldn't have survived otherwise, in my estimation.

[anciano]

5. A truly extraordinary experience.....

I imagine some screenwriters in Hollywood are already working on the script for a movie. Just saying....

[sprinkleeninow]

6. Miraculous for true!

🕯

[JoeOtterbein]

7. K n R ! Thanks for posting! nt

[mysteryowl]

8. It reminds of the soccer boys in Thailand, kinda.

How amazing for the 1 year old to survive!

[Solly Mack]

9. K&R

[burrowowl]

10. K&R!

[wss2001]

11. 7 people in a single engine Cessna?

That seems like a lot of people for that small of a plane.

[Mister Ed]

12. It was a Cessna 206 model, which can accommodate that number.

The 206 has seating for six. I'm presuming the seventh, an infant, rode in it's mother's lap

[stopdiggin]

13. a just incredible story

hopefully a truly accurate telling of what actually transpired out there will eventually be assembled. Right now - there are still gaping holes (and what appear to be embellishment and continued speculation) (as well as what I suspect might be some language/translation issues?)

For now - the kids are safe - finally!

[Duppers]

15. Incredible...and just amazing! 40 days!!

What a harrowing experience for those poor children! That had to have been extremely traumatizing. 13, 9, & 5!!! Just wow!!

JUST LOOK AT THESE POOR BABIES!





(My son flew into Bogota with his g.f. about 5yrs ago where her U.S. friend was working at the time. I doubt that even IF they could have survived a plane crash, they couldn't have survived in the Amazon forest that long.)