A mother has been found dead with four children still missing two weeks after a plane crash in a South American jungle. The youngsters’ relatives have been praying for their safety after the Cessna 206 light aircraft went down in dense rainforest in Caquetá province, Colombia.
Relatives have urged military officials not to end the search for Soleiny Mucutuy, nine, Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutuy, four, Lesly Mucutuy, 13, and 11-month-old Cristin Neriman Ranoque Mucutuy.
The children’s family, which belongs to the Huitoto ethnic group and the Puerto Sábalo community, believe they survived the crash because they were at the back of the plane.
Grandmother, Fatima, said in comments translated from Spanish into English: “I am waiting for the body of the children’s mother. She had been in the bush for a long time. I am waiting for her. God is great and will bring the children back alive.”
Local media reports the families are also hopeful the youngsters are still alive because of their jungle-survival skills.
Rescue teams found three dead among the wreckage of the plane, including the children’s mother Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia, 33.
Pilot, Hernando Murcia Morales and Herman Mendoza Hernández, Director of the Foundation of Indigenous Professionals were also found dead by the authorities.
Mr Murcia Morales radioed problems with the aircraft’s engine moments before the crash, according to officials.
Ms Mucutui Valencia’s desperate mother issued an emotional appeal to the children in Spanish and her native language. The recording was played repeatedly by Air Force and National Army helicopters flying over Colombia’s Solano municipality.
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In comments translated into English, she said: “I ask you please, you have to remain calm because the army is looking for you. If you listen to this, they are going to rescue you.”
Rescuers have spent more than 370 hours searching for the children, with items including a baby’s dummy and a makeshift shelter found by Special Forces team members with the aid of sniffer dogs.
Colonel Juan José López, Director of Operations of the Civil Aeronautics, told local media: “Within the traces we were able to find some scissors, a bow and the packaging of the bow, which, well, confirms that they are still alive and we continue the efforts and we hope that we are in the right direction.
“The truth is that they could have gone in any direction, but we are in different areas, going through different sectors, trying to cover the whole sector in which it is estimated that the children could be.
“We have the support of the indigenous community, family members and personnel who have travelled from Araracuara, entered the river from Cachiporroza, to the area of interest and from there they have joined this effort.”
But search efforts for the plane which crashed on May 1 have been hampered by heavy rain, wild animals and the area’s dense jungle environment. The poor weather conditions have also hindered efforts to recover the bodies of those killed in the crash.
The region has no roads and is usually accessed by boat along a river. Inhabitants in the area usually travel by private plane.
There was confusion on Wednesday (May 17) that the children had been found alive after a Colombian Institute of Family Welfare report.
The “news” was shared with Colombian president Gustavo Petro who announced on his Twitter account that the four children had been rescued.
However, neither Colombia’s military nor its Civil Aeronautics body have confirmed any rescue.
News website infobae.com has reported that the children were spotted by a soldier but contact had not been made with them.
The same publication reported that footprints were also identified in the area and that a resident in the area said he had spotted the children travelling by boat on a river through the jungle.
Infobae reported on Thursday that the plane company, Avianline Charter, confirmed search efforts are continuing.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.