(Bogotá) A baby bottle, scissors, footprints and a shack of branches found this week in the Colombian jungle prove that at least one of the four children who disappeared after the crash on 1er May of the small plane in which they were traveling survived.
But the mystery that holds Colombia and far beyond in suspense thickens as the days go by, the children of 13, 9, 4 years old and an 11 month old baby remaining untraceable.
Here is what we know about this tragedy which killed at least three people, including the mother of the children.
What happened on 1er may ?
On the morning of 1er May, a Cessna 206 from Avianline Charters took off from Araracuara (south) bound for San José del Guaviare, one of the main towns in the Colombian Amazon. On board the pilot and six members of the Uitoto indigenous community, a chief and a mother with her four children.
A few minutes after takeoff for a 350 kilometer flight over the jungle, the pilot reports engine problems and the plane disappears from radar.
The search undertaken did not find the plane, vertically with its nose crushed to the ground in the middle of dense vegetation, until Monday, May 15. Inside the aircraft was found the body of the pilot. It was not until the next day that the armed forces, which coordinated the search, announced the discovery of those of the mother and the native chief. The only immediate trace of the children is a bottle found not far away thanks to a sniffer dog and recently chewed fruit.
What are the clues found?
Then it will be shoes and clothes. On Wednesday, May 17, the soldiers discovered a “makeshift shelter made of sticks and branches”, then a dog, scissors and a piece of hair band.
On Thursday, a fresh footprint was discovered. Air Force helicopters fly over the area, playing an audio message from the children’s grandmother in the Uitoto language telling them they are wanted and asking them to stay where they are for rescue. can find them.
According to the grandfather, they are “used to the jungle” and could hide, out of fear, after the accident. “Why do children leave behind objects” that could be useful for their survival: “scissors are a weapon or can be used to cut a sheet”, he wondered on Friday.
Why is the case confusing?
“A joy for the country,” tweeted President Petro on Wednesday, pressed to announce the rescue of the children. The information goes around the world but the president himself denies it the next day in a new message: “I decided to delete the tweet because the information provided by the ICBF could not be confirmed. I regret what happened”.
He blames the public body responsible for ensuring children’s rights, which on Wednesday in a press release said it had received “information” that the four children “were found alive and in good health”.
However, the ICBF pointed out that “the military forces have not yet been able to establish official contact due to the difficult weather and terrain conditions”.
Where are the searches?
On Friday, the army announced that it was increasing the number of teams on the ground from 100 to 150. It is supported by locals who know the jungle and the difficulties of getting around.
“In this sector there is no village and even the natives do not know it”, explained the grandfather. The jungle and the rivers of the south of the country are also a corridor for the guerrillas of the main dissent of the former FARC.