Four children aboard a plane that crashed in Colombia two weeks ago have been found alive in the Amazon jungle.
According to the French news agency AFP, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the birth of the child in his Twitter message on Wednesday, calling it a “joyful occasion for the country.”
He wrote that ‘military personnel found the children after a lot of difficulties.’
After the plane crash, authorities deployed more than 100 military personnel with the help of sniffer dogs to search for the plane.
These young children were aboard the plane that crashed on May 1, killing three people and leaving the children missing.
Rescue personnel were confident that the children were alive. Their ages are four, nine, and thirteen, while an 11-month-old baby is also included.
Rescue officials say the children were roaming in Kiquita, the southern part of the forest.
Earlier on Wednesday, military officials said they found a makeshift shelter made of branches in the southern part of the country, after which they believed the children were nearby and intensified the search.
Photos released by military officials showed a pair of scissors and a hair clipper lying in a shelter made of branches.
Earlier, a bottle of baby milk and a half-eaten piece of fruit were also found.
The bodies of the ship’s captain and two others were found on Tuesday.
The plane had flown from the nearby Amazon region to San Jose del Guavier, a large Colombian city located near the jungle.
One of the dead passengers was identified as Roanoke Makote, the mother of the children, and belonged to the Huetutu tribe.
Tall trees, animals, and heavy rain everywhere in the forest made ‘Operation Hope’ very difficult, but the officials continued to try.
Authorities have not yet revealed the cause of the plane crash. A minute before the crash, the pilot reported that there was some problem with the engine, and after that, the plane disappeared from the radar.
The area where the plane crashed has fewer roads and is difficult to pass through, so it is common to use a plane even for short trips.