How 4 Indigenous Colombian children survived in the Amazon

How did four indigenous children survive the Amazon jungle for 40 days after a deadly plane crash? On May 1st, a propeller plane carrying the children and three adults fell off the radar after engine failure. Two weeks later, the adults were found dead at the crash site, but the children were missing. A five-week-long search and rescue mission by the Colombian army alongside the Indigenous Guard ensued before rescuers finally found the children alive. Colombian government officials hailed their survival as nothing short of a miracle. The eldest of the children, who are of the Huitoto people, has been credited for their survival, using her indigenous knowledge of the rainforest to survive on fruits, seeds, and rainwater. And according to the indigenous people of the Amazon, the rainforest herself had a hand in helping the children survive.

In this episode: 

• Alessandro Rampietti (@rampietti), Al Jazeera reporter in Colombia

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Sonia Bhagat with Chloe K. Li and Malika Bilal. Khaled Soltan fact-checked this episode.

Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Aya Elmileik. Munera Al Dosari and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers.

Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer, and Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

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