Four Indigenous children who were missing for more than five weeks in Colombia’s southern jungle, after surviving a plane crash which killed their mother, are in an “acceptable” state of health, the government said on Saturday.
The siblings were found on Friday in Caqueta province after weeks of searching by the military, Indigenous communities and others, and were initially treated by military medics before being transported to a military hospital in capital Bogota.
President Gustavo Petro, his family and other officials visited the children at the hospital on Saturday morning, with Petro saying on Twitter the rescue was an example of different groups coming together for the common good.
“In general the boy and the girls are in an acceptable state. According to the medical reports they are out of danger,” Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said during a press conference after the visit.
The children are not yet able to eat, he added, but are being hydrated and stabilized.