(Bogotá) Le président colombien Gustavo Petro, qui avait annoncé mercredi sur Twitter le sauvetage de quatre enfants, dont un bébé de 11 mois, disparus dans la jungle après le crash de leur avion début mai, s’est rétracté jeudi, indiquant la poursuite « sans relâche » des recherches.
« J’ai décidé de supprimer le tweet car les informations fournies […] could not be confirmed. I regret what happened,” he wrote on Twitter, assuring that “military forces and indigenous communities will continue their search tirelessly.”
“A joy for the country,” he wrote on Wednesday evening, announcing the rescue of four children aged thirteen, nine, four and an 11-month-old baby, of whom we have not heard from since the accident of the small plane that killed them. carried the 1er may.
The aircraft, a Cessna 206, had disappeared from radar in the vicinity of San José del Guaviare where he was to go. He was found on Monday upright with his nose crushed to the ground in the middle of dense vegetation.
Three bodies were recovered by the emergency services, those of the pilot, the mother of the children and a leader of the Uitoto community, to which the passengers belonged. They were the only adults on board.
The hope of finding the children alive was maintained on Tuesday by the discovery of personal effects near the plane, including a bottle, as well as partially eaten fruit.
On Wednesday, the more than 100 soldiers aided by sniffer dogs discovered a “makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches”, fueling hopes that there would be at least one survivor.
The searches are particularly made difficult by the presence of wild animals, trees that can measure up to 40 meters high and especially heavy rains which have limited their extent.
“Alive and healthy”
President Petro said the information about the children’s rescue relayed on his Twitter account on Wednesday came from the ICBF, the public body responsible for monitoring children’s rights, but that it “could not be confirmed” .
The organization said on Wednesday that it had received “information” that the four children “were found alive and in good health”.
In its press release, the ICBF underlined however that “the military forces have not yet been able to establish official contact due to the difficult weather and terrain conditions”.
The company Avianline Charters, owner of the accident plane, had corroborated the version of the organization and assured that the children could have boarded a boat.
The Air Force is engaged in the relief operation called “Hope” with three helicopters. On board one of the devices, a loudspeaker “capable of covering an area of approximately 1,500 meters” broadcasts a message recorded by the children’s grandmother.
In the Uitoto language, the woman tells her grandchildren that they are wanted and asks them to stay where they are so that rescuers can locate them.
Authorities have not given the reasons for the family’s air travel. But the inhabitants of this region, which is difficult to access, due to the lack of roads in particular, are often forced to travel on board small planes.
According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (ONIC), the Uitoto live in “harmony” in the jungle and maintain traditions such as hunting, fishing and the gathering of wild fruits.
The causes of the accident have not yet been determined.
According to civil protection, the pilot had reported problems with the plane’s engine before it disappeared from radar.