Colombians were on edge Friday as authorities searched for four Indigenous children who were on a small plane that crashed in the Amazon jungle this month but have not been found. The three adults aboard died.
The crash happened in the early hours of May 1 when the Cessna single-engine propeller plane with six passengers and a pilot declared an emergency due to an engine failure. The small aircraft fell off radar a short time later and a frantic search for survivors began.
Colombian troops found the wreckage Tuesday along with the bodies of the pilot, a guide and the children’s mother. But there was no sign of the youngsters.
The children, members of the Uitoto Indigenous community, were identified as Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9; Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutuy, 4; and Cristin Neriman Ranoque Mucutuy, 11 months.
On Wednesday, there appeared to be a breakthrough when Colombian President Gustavo Petro took to Twitter to announce that the four children had been found alive. But any elation was deflated hours later when Petro deleted the tweet, acknowledging that the children had in fact not been found.
“I have decided to delete the tweet because the information provided by the ICBF (Colombian Institute of Family Welfare) could not be confirmed,” Petro wrote. “I regret what happened. The Military Forces and the Indigenous communities will continue in their tireless search to give the country the news it is waiting for.”
Dozens of military personnel, supported by Indigenous people from nearby communities, have been searching the area where the plane crashed.
Colombians have been debating various finds in the search and whether they might be linked to the children — including a baby bottle discovered one day and a pair of scissors found the next day in what seemed to be a makeshift shelter of leaves.
In addition, the company that owned the plane said in a statement that one of its pilots who was in the area had heard from some members of a local Indigenous community that the children were on their way to a village on a riverboat. But they never showed up there.
Another report said the children had boarded a boat on the Apaporis River heading toward the village of Cachiporro. But the children were not on board when the boat arrived.
(AP)
Follow us on:
Oleksandr Usyk has secured victory over Tyson Fury in Riyadh, successfully defending his heavyweight championship…
Albania plans a one-year TikTok ban from January after a schoolboy’s death sparks concerns over…
A suspect accused of killing five people by driving into a crowded Christmas market in…
A US Navy F/A-18 Hornet was mistakenly shot down over the Red Sea by the…
NNPC has reduced petrol ex-depot price to N899 per litre, sparking competition with Dangote Refinery…
President Tinubu has urged enforcement of strict crowd control measures after deadly stampedes in Anambra,…
View Comments
CAMRY TINY LIGHT #450,000
CAMRY BIG DADDY #500,000
CAMRY MUZZLE #850,000
CAMRY SPIDER #950,000
TOYOTA RAV4 #750,000
TOYOTA AVALON #650,000
TOYOTA VENZA #1,8MILLION
TOYOTA PICNIC #400,000
TOYOTA HILUX #1,2MILLION
TOYOTA TUNDRA #1,5MILLION
TOYOTA TACOMA #2MILLION
TOYOTA LAND CRUISER PRADO 3M
TOYOTA PRADO 2,5MILLION
ACURA MDX #950,000
ACURA TL #1MILLION
ACURA ZDX #1,5MILLION
NISSAN MURANO #800,000
NISSAN PATHFINDER #900,000
NISSAN XTERA #950,000
NISSAN ARMADA #4,5MILLION
NISSAN PICANTO #400,000
NISSAN ALMERA #450,000
NISSAN SENTRA #700,000
HONDA PILOT #850,000
HONDA ODDYSEY #500,000
HONDA ELEMENT #2,5MILLION
HONDA ACCORD #450,000
HONDA BABY BOY #400,000
HONDA EVIL SPIRIT #450,000
RANGE ROVER SPORT #4,8M
LAND ROVER SPORT #2,5MILLION
LAND ROVER DISCOVERY #3M
LEXUS RX300 #700,000
LEXUS RX330 #800,000
LEXUS RX350 #1,2M
LEXUS ES300 #800,000
LEXUS ES330 #900,000
LEXUS ES350 #1MILLION
LEXUS GX460 #1,5M
LEXUS GX470 #1,8M
LEXUS LX570 #2,8M
MERCEDES C200 #1,5M
MERCEDES C230 #1,8M
MERCEDES C250 #2M
MERCEDES C300 2,5M
MERCEDES 4MATIC 2,8M
MERCEDES GLK 3M
O7O 4540 6674 }