Four children were sitting in the back of the plane when it crashed into the Amazon rainforest canopy, so they survived the crash, although three adults traveling with them died.
Colombia was shocked this weekend by the news that four children had been found alive in the Amazon rainforest after surviving 40 days. They had been wandering in the jungle since May 1, when a small plane carrying them, their mother and two adults crashed.
The miracle of the four children has attracted public attention, not only because they were able to survive in the jungle for more than 5 weeks, but also because they actually overcame "death's door" when the plane crashed.
The flight, piloted by Hernando Murcia Morales, was carrying indigenous leader Herman Mendoza Hernández, an indigenous woman named Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia and her four children, the oldest 13 years old and the youngest 11 months old.
Shortly after taking off from the airport in Araracuara on the morning of May 1, the pilot contacted air traffic control about an emergency. "Mayday, Mayday, engines at minimum power, I'm looking for a place to land," he said.
The scene of the plane crash in the Amazon rainforest in May. Photo: Colombian Accident Investigation Commission
The pilot then reported that the engine was working again and continued the journey, but less than an hour later, he continued to report: "Mayday, Mayday, engine failure again. I'm looking for a river. I see a river to the right."
Air traffic control data showed the plane veering to the right, then disappearing from radar. Air rescuers immediately launched a search operation, but did not immediately find the wreckage in the jungle.
Five days later, the Colombian military deployed special forces to comb the forest for ground searches. It was not until the evening of May 16 that they discovered the wreckage of the plane, along with the pilot and two adults who died at the scene, but the four children were not there.
Photos from the scene show the tail of the plane standing upright, relatively intact, while the nose and front of the plane hit trees and the ground. The investigation report said the plane was likely flying at an altitude of about 50 meters, before hitting the dense canopy, tearing the engine and wings off, and then falling vertically to the ground.
"A detailed examination of the wreckage showed that after the aircraft hit the tree canopy, the engine and propeller separated from the fuselage and fell," the report said. "Due to the sudden deceleration caused by the tree, the aircraft nose-dived and fell vertically to the ground."
The forceful impact to the ground killed or seriously injured three adults sitting in the front. A diagram of the injuries at the scene showed the pilot was in seat number one, the male passenger was in seat number two, the female passenger was in seat number three, and four children were in the back.
The pilot and indigenous leader Herman Mendoza Hernández were likely killed instantly. The back seat, where four children were sitting, received less impact from the impact.
Two of the three child seats were reportedly secure and in an upright position, while one was loose. The 11-month-old baby was likely being held by his mother and was not seriously injured.
Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia, the children's mother, was seriously injured and lived for about four days after the accident. Before she died, Valencia asked her children to go find help instead of waiting at the scene.
The investigation report reinforced the belief that the children had survived, prompting authorities to expand the search for them in Operation Hope. Colombian authorities believed at the time that the children had left the plane and walked through the jungle on their own. Traces later found, including baby bottles, diapers and footprints, supported this belief.
Simulation of the plane hitting the tree canopy and falling into the forest. Graphics: Colombian Accident Investigation Commission
119 soldiers from the Colombian special forces and 73 indigenous people familiar with the Amazonian terrain deployed and searched the area.
They used a helicopter’s spotlight to hover over the night sky to attract the children’s attention, and used a loudspeaker to play a recording of the grandmother’s voice, speaking in the Huitoto language, asking the children to stay put so rescuers could find them. They also taped whistles to tree branches so the children could signal their location if they found them.
President Petro announced on June 9 that soldiers had found all four children alive after more than 40 days in the jungle. Rescuers found them about 5 kilometers west of the crash site.
That same night, military helicopters were deployed to the scene to take the children to a military hospital, where they are recovering.
Hong Hanh (According to CNN )
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