four questions about missing children in the Amazon jungle after a plane crash

Radio silence for more than two weeks. The search continues in the Amazon jungle, in Colombia, where a plane crashed in early May while carrying three adults and four children. The bodies of the adults were recovered by the emergency services, but those of the children have still not been found. More than a hundred soldiers roam the jungle as part of the search.

It is in this context that the Colombian president announced, Wednesday, May 17, that the children had been saved. But a few hours later, Gustavo Petro retracted, for lack of confirmation. This tragedy raises several questions.

Under what circumstances did the children disappear?

A small plane, a Cessna 206 HK 280, crashed on May 1 in the heart of the Amazon jungle, in Colombia. It was carrying seven people, including four children, aged 11 months, 4, 9 and 13 years respectively. The aircraft disappeared from radar in the vicinity of San José Del Guaviare, in the center of the country, where it was to go, and was found on Monday May 15 vertically, the nose crushed on the ground in the middle of dense vegetation .

Authorities first announced that they had identified the pilot’s body. The next day, they found the children’s mother and the co-pilot, a leader of the Uitoto indigenous community, to which all the passengers on the plane belonged. Since then, more than a hundred soldiers are mobilized day and night to try to find the children, with the hope that they are still alive.

The causes of the accident have not yet been determined. According to Colombian civil protection, the pilot had reported engine problems before the plane disappeared from radar. Moreover, the authorities did not give the reasons for the family’s flight. But the inhabitants of this region, which is difficult to access, due to the lack of roads in particular, often use small planes to travel.

Why did the Colombian president go back on his announcement?

A message from the Colombian president caused false joy on Wednesday evening. Gustavo Petro announced the discovery of the four children safe and sound. “After painstaking search efforts by our military forces, we found alive the four children who had disappeared due to the plane crash in Guaviare. A joy for the country”he wrote on Twitter.

Except that at the time of its announcement, this information had not been confirmed. After several hours, the Colombian president deleted his tweet and posted an apology on his account. “The information provided by the ICBF [Institut colombien du bien-être familial] could not be confirmed. I’m sorry for what happened”insisted Gustavo Petro, adding that “The military forces and indigenous communities will continue their tireless quest to give the country the news it has been waiting for”.

Where are the searches?

ICBF explained in a press release on Wednesday that he had received “informations” that the four children “were found alive and in good health”. The public body, however, pointed out that “the military forces have not yet been able to establish official contact due to the difficult weather and terrain”. The presence of wild animals, trees up to 40 meters high and especially heavy rains complicate the search, the scope of which must be limited.

On Thursday morning, ICBF director Astrid Caceres was cautious on the microphone of Colombian radio BluRadio Colombia. Asked about the discovery of children, Astrid Caceres said “hope that’s the case”while recalling “wait for confirmation”. Since the presidential blunder, the army, which has been communicating since the start of the search operations, sharing photos and videos, remains silent.

The Air Force is engaged in the relief operation called “Hope” with three helicopters mobilized. On board one of the aircraft, a loudspeaker “capable of covering an area of ​​approximately 1,500 meters” plays a message recorded by the children’s grandmother. In the Uitoto language, she tells her grandchildren that they are wanted and asks them to stay where they are so that rescuers can locate them.

What suggests that the children are still alive?

The soldiers, helped by sniffer dogs, discovered on Wednesday a “makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches”, fueling the hope that there would be at least one survivor. The day before, they had already found personal effects near the plane, including a bottle, as well as partly eaten fruit.

According to the children’s grandfather, Fidencio Valencia, they “used to be in the jungle”, but they could have gone into hiding, out of fear, after the accident. According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia, the Uitoto live in “harmony” in the jungle and preserve traditions such as hunting, fishing and the gathering of wild fruits. “We want to find the children. I know that they have been in the jungle for a long time, it is difficult. With the support of all the inhabitants, the indigenous energy and the prayers, we will succeed”he said on local television.