June 10th 2023.
The miraculous rescue of four siblings, aged 13, 9, 4, and 11 months, has captivated the imagination of Colombians. The four had been missing for more than five weeks following a tragic plane crash that left their mother and two other adults dead.
The crash occurred in a thick rainforest in the south of Colombia and was so isolated that it hampered search efforts. Military planes and helicopters assisted the search teams on the ground, while soldiers on helicopters dropped boxes of food into the jungle, hoping that it would help sustain the children.
A number of clues, including a footprint, eventually led rescuers to the children. They were found on Friday in Colombia's Caqueta province according to the country's armed forces and were initially treated by military medics who had been among the search teams searching for them.
General Pedro Sanchez, commander of the military's joint command for special operations said at an air base in Bogota, said, "We did everything necessary to make the impossible possible, using satellites, using aircraft that launched messages, that launched food, that launched flyers, that launched hope."
The mission to find the four siblings, called Operation Hope, captured the imagination of Colombians as reports of clues to their whereabouts fuelled longings that they would be found safely despite spending more than a month in the inhospitable jungle.
After the plane carrying the children landed in Bogota, four ambulances waited to collect them and take them to a military hospital for specialist medical care. In photos shared by Colombia's military, the four children appeared gaunt as they were being cared for by rescuers.
The rescue of the four children has been described as a 'miracle', as it seemed impossible that they would survive in an area with extremely limited visibility due to mist and thick foliage. Colombia's army stepped up the hunt for the children and flew 150 soldiers with dogs into the area to track the group, while dozens of volunteers from indigenous tribes also helped search.
The four siblings have now arrived in the capital Bogota early on Saturday for medical treatment. The remarkable rescue of the four children symbolizes the power of hope, and has been a source of inspiration for Colombians.
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