Four children who survived 40 days in the Amazon jungle after a plane crash endured the death of their mother in front of them and used supplies from the wreckage to stay alive, authorities and a family member said.
More details have emerged about the incredible ordeal involving four children from the Mucutuy family, who are part of the Indigenous Huitoto community. They were rescued on June 9 by a combined force of Colombian military personnel and Indigenous searchers.
The children, ranging in age from 1 to 13, were able to stay alive in the Colombian jungle after all the adults aboard a Cessna plane they were riding in were killed in a May 1 crash.
The oldest sibling said their mother initially survived the crash but died four days later, the father of two of the children told reporters.
"Before she died, their mom told them something like, 'You guys get out of here,'" Manuel Ranoque said.
The oldest child, Lesly Mucutuy, 13, showed her resourcefulness in caring for her siblings Soleiny, 9, Tien, 4, and Cristin, who turned 1 during their time in the jungle.
Narciso Mucutuy, the children's grandfather, told reporters the children initially stayed by the plane and survived on three pounds of cassava flour they were traveling with. When no one came to help, the siblings started walking.
Lesly made sure to take camping gear, a towel, an empty water bottle and a flashlight from the crash site. The children also stayed by a nearby river for a water source, according to their rescuers.
They hid in tree trunks to protect themselves from snakes and insects, and they built a makeshift shelter from the camping gear.
Lesly fed the baby formula she took from the crash site and then water once the formula ran out, her grandfather said. The other siblings survived on berries and seeds they found in the jungle.
It took two weeks for authorities to discover the plane's wreckage. The children and adults were traveling from Araracuara, in Amazonas province, to San Jose del Guaviare, in southeastern Colombia, when the plane malfunctioned and crashed.
Members of the search team found half-eaten fruit, small footprints, a baby bottle and a tiny pair of shoes that alerted them to the possibility that the children were still alive.
Rescuers arrived as the situation was getting dire for the children.
"The day they were found, (Lesly) was very tired and couldn’t walk anymore," her grandfather said.
The siblings were sitting in one place and Lesly was holding the baby between her legs when they were discovered.
"The children — the eldest girl was carrying the little girl and holding the second-eldest girl’s hand — they ran to hug me," Nicolas Ordonez, a member of the Indigenous Guard, told reporters in Spanish. "I received the little girl in my arms, and Lesly said, 'I’m hungry.'"
The children are now slowly regaining their strength at a military hospital. They have been playing with each other, reading and drawing pictures, the hospital director said.
One picture thanking the rescuers features the words "Siempre Bendecida," which means "Always Blessed."