The Colombian government declared Wednesday that it is doing everything possible to locate four missing Indigenous children who are thought to have survived a plane crash three weeks ago in the jungle near the edge of the Amazon rainforest.
According to the presidency, rescue operations include analyzing satellite imagery, hurling flyers from helicopters, and pleading with jungle spirits for assistance.
Satellite photographs may provide a glimpse of the route the 13-, 9-, 4-, and 11-month-old youngsters took when the small plane crashed on May 1.
Among those killed in the collision between the departments of Caqueta and Guaviare were a pilot, an indigenous chief, and the mother of the children.
Along with volunteers from seven Indigenous groups experienced in searching in jungle-like terrain, more than 160 personnel of the security forces are taking part in the search by land and air.
The Indigenous participants engaged in “spiritual processes that include speaking to the jungle and asking that it speak back” to help locate the missing children, according to the office of Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
10,000 flyers with instructions on how to survive the situation were thrown by the Colombian air force from helicopters, both in Spanish and an Indigenous language.
Rescuers claim to have located a makeshift shelter and some half-eaten fruit last week and that they are on the trail of the missing children.
The rescue teams dropped about 100 prepared kits comprising meals and bottled water into various jungle locations throughout the course of the weekend.
Last Wednesday, Petro claimed on Twitter that the kids had been discovered alive before later retraction and apology.
The family’s oldest child is said to be adept at navigating the forest, which raises the possibility that they may have made it through the ordeal.