13-year-old Leslie’s leadership and her “connection with nature” was critical for her and her siblings, Soleini (9), Thien Noriel (5) and Kristin (1), to survive the 40 days lost in the Colombian Amazon. they were wrecked in an area of ​​dense forest and inaccessible places.

Rescuers have singled out provisions found in the crashed plane, fruits gathered in the jungle, and local knowledge of the forest as important elements of the four brothers’ “miracle”.

The children were found malnourished and malnourished after 40 days lost in the Colombian Amazon. Photo: Divulgation/Governo de Colombia/ND

The Colombian Ministry of Defense highlighted the role of the elder sister: “We must recognize her not only for her courage, but also for her leadership. It was thanks to her that the three younger brothers were able to survive.”

According to Henry Guerrero, a rescue worker on the Indigenous team involved in the search, Leslie played a fundamental role in protecting the brothers. “The elder was very smart. I noticed when we were checking what I had taken in the suitcase since they got off the plane,” he explained.

“The girl took cassava flour, a towel, a flashlight that had run out of batteries, two cell phones that I think they used to entertain themselves at night, a music box, a bottle of soda and clothes.

Children are fed with berries

Children emerged virtually unscathed from a single-engine plane that crashed May 1 in the Colombian Amazon while traveling with their mother, an indigenous chief and pilot. All adults have died. According to General Pedro Sanchez, the military officer who led the search operation, at first the children stayed close to the wreckage of the aircraft, eating some of the flour that was on board.

But these supplies were running out, and they, according to the instructions given by their mother before her death, were looking for a way out of the forest. On the crossing, they ate peach palm and wild mango, typical fruits of the forest,” Sanchez added.

Huitoto ethnic group and relations with the Amazons

The brothers belong to the Witoto ethnic group, originally from the Amazon. These are indigenous children who know the forest and know what to eat and what not to eat. “They managed to survive thanks to this and their spiritual strength,” Luis Acosta, who participated in the search operation on behalf of Onic (National Indigenous Organization of Colombia), told AFP.

Sanchez explained that the children’s indigenous background makes it easier for them to adapt to the hostile environment of the jungle. “We have a special connection with nature. The world needs this special relationship with nature in order to favor those who, for example, the indigenous people, live in the forest and take care of it,” summed up Javier Betancourt, another director of Onic, to the AFP news agency.

Footprints left by children in the forest and a makeshift tent

About 200 soldiers and local researchers followed the tracks left by children in a region where it rains 16 hours a day with the help of sniffer dogs. They covered 2656 km, which is equivalent to the distance between Caracas and Quito. “It was a spectacular combination of local knowledge and military art,” General Sanchez praised.

Finally, the brothers were found only 5 km from the plane and when their strength began to weaken: “The first thing they told us was that they were hungry. They wanted to eat rice with milk, they wanted to eat bread. Just eat, eat. They were exhausted and weak. Therefore, they spent four days in the same place, where they set up a makeshift tent with a mosquito net, and on the ground a small towel, ”he added.

According to Henry Guerrero, the children always stayed close to the watercourse. A small bottle of soda, by the way, carried by Leslie in a suitcase, allowed the brothers to stock up on water for the period when they disappeared. For the last four days, already completely exhausted, they remained in the same place where they were found on June 9th.

In photos posted by local cars, they appear to be very thin. The eldest had a bruise on his forehead. When they were taken to the Central Military Hospital in Bogota, the doctor confirmed that they were in “acceptable clinical condition” and that they would receive “traditional and psychological support.”

According to Adriana Velasquez, deputy director of the ICBF (Columbia Family Welfare Institute), in a video sent out to the media, she says they are in very good spirits after two days of grooming, painting and coloring. “They have a very good disposition,” Adriana said.

*According to the portal R7.