Images released by the Colombian military show footprints suspected to be those of missing plane crash victims
AFP news agency reported on May 19 that Colombian President Gustavo Petro has just retracted his statement about finding four indigenous children alive, more than 2 weeks after they went missing in a plane crash in the Amazon rainforest.
Writing on Twitter, Mr. Petro said he had deleted his tweet from the evening of May 17 regarding the announcement of the rescue of four children, including an 11-month-old baby.
"I apologize for what happened. The military forces and the indigenous community will continue to search tirelessly to bring the country the news it has been waiting for," he said.
More than 100 soldiers have been deployed along with sniffer dogs to search for children on the plane that crashed on May 1, killing three adults, including the pilot and the children's mother.
The four children include an 11-month-old, 4-year-old, 9-year-old and 13-year-old. Rescuers believe they are still wandering in the woods after the accident.
"At this point, there is no other priority than to carry out the search until they are found. Their lives are the most important thing," said President Petro.
Amidst much confusing information, the Colombian military has not commented after Mr. Petro announced on May 17.
The children's grandmother, Fidencio Valencia, said there was hope the children were alive because "they were used to being in the forest".
Images released by the military show scissors, shoes and hair ties in the woods. There was also a child's water bottle and a half-eaten piece of fruit.
On May 15 and 16, soldiers found the bodies of the pilot and two adults on the flight from a place in the forest to San Jose del Guaviare, one of the main cities in eastern Colombia.
Trees up to 40 metres high and heavy rains are making the search difficult. Three helicopters are being used in the search, including one that plays a loudspeaker with Ms Valencia's message in the local Huitoto language to urge them to stop moving in the forest.
The cause of the crash is unclear. The pilot reported engine problems just minutes before the plane disappeared from radar, according to Colombia's disaster response agency.
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