Colombian children rescued from the jungle are said to be in good health

Four Colombian children who survived 40 days in the Colombian jungle after their plane crashed were eager to play and asked for books to read, officials said Saturday, a day after the group was rescued.

The siblings, aged 1 to 13, were recovering in a military hospital in Bogotá, the capital, and were said to be in good health and spirits on Saturday when they were visited by President Gustavo Petro and other officials.

The country has been enthralled by the children’s story, with many eagerly awaiting news of their fate since their plane crashed on May 1. The children, members of the Huitoto indigenous community, had been traveling with their mother and an indigenous leader from the small Amazon region. community of Araracuara, Colombia, to San José del Guaviare, a small town in central Colombia along the Guaviare River.

When rescuers reached the crash site last month, the bodies of the three adults they were traveling with were found, but no trace of the children.

Officials had said in recent weeks they had reason to believe the children had survived the crash. When news of their survival and discovery broke on Friday, the country erupted in revelry.

Carlos Rincón, the military doctor who evaluated the children, said they survived with only minor cuts and abrasions. In photos released by the government on Friday, the children look thin and the doctor said they have not yet been given solid food. He said he expected they could be discharged from the hospital within two to three weeks.

Defense Minister Iván Velásquez, who was one of the officials who visited the children, praised the eldest, Lesly Mucutuy, 13, for ensuring the group’s survival.

“We must not only recognize her courage, but also her leadership,” he said. “It was thanks to her that the three little siblings were able to survive by her side, with her care, with her knowledge of the jungle.”

Lesly’s 9-year-old sister, Soleiny, “talks a lot,” said Astrid Cáceres, director of the country’s child welfare service. Ten, 5, asks for books to read, while the 1-year-old has “a composure to work with the nurses that you can’t imagine,” Ms Cáceres added.

“Lesly smiled at us, gave us hugs,” she said. “She wants to play, she’s bored in bed.”

Two of the children had their birthdays during their stay in the jungle. Ten turned five and the youngest, Cristin, turned one.

“The celebration of birthdays is too late,” Ms Cáceres said at the press conference. “So we are inviting the country to celebrate at this time.

The government has given few details about the whereabouts of the children.

Special forces found the children late Friday afternoon by following footprints and traces of food, a military spokesman said.

The children were “very weak,” he said. “I think if a few more days had passed, we wouldn’t have found them alive.”

“Miracle, miracle, miracle was the key word to report that they found them,” he added.

In a coordinated search called Operation Hope, soldiers and Native people traveled about 2,650 miles in search of the siblings.

After visiting the hospital with his wife and two daughters, President Petro took to Twitter to praise the cooperation between the army and indigenous groups and “respect for the jungle”.

“Here is another path for Colombia,” he wrote. “I believe this is the true path to peace.”