Four children from an Indigenous community in Colombia were found alive in the

south of the country more than five weeks after the plane they were travelling in
crashed in thick jungle, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said on Friday.

The children were rescued by the military near the border between Colombia's
Caqueta and Guaviare provinces, close to where the small plane had crashed.

The plane — a Cessna 206 — was carrying seven people on a route between
Araracuara, in Amazonas province, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare
province, when it issued a mayday alert due to engine failure in the early hours of
May 1.

Three adults, including the pilot, died as a result of the crash and their bodies were
found inside the plane. The four children, aged 13, nine and four, as well as an 11-
month-old baby, survived the impact.

Photos shared by Colombia's military showed a group of soldiers with the four
children in the middle of the jungle.
A soldier stands next to the wreckage of a plane in the jungle of Caqueta, Colombia,
on May 19. (Colombian Military Forces/Reuters)
"A joy for the whole country! The four children who were lost … in the Colombian
jungle appeared alive," Petro said in a message on Twitter.

Petro initially tweeted that children had been found on May 17 but later deleted the
post, saying the information was unconfirmed.

 Colombian president deletes tweet saying missing children from plane

crash have been found alive

"They were together, they are weak, let's let the doctors assess them. They found
them, it makes me very happy," Petro told journalists on Friday, adding the children
had defended themselves alone in the middle of the jungle.