A soldier with a dog checking a pair of scissors found in the forest in a rural area of the municipality of Solano, department of Caqueta. Photo: AFP / Supplied
Four Colombian children have been found alive more than two weeks after being involved in a plane crash in a jungle which killed three people.
The children were found in the dense jungle of Colombia's Caqueta province after an extensive search and rescue effort.
The plane - a Cessna 206 - was travelling between Araracuara and San Jose del Guaviare when it issued a mayday alert due to engine failure in the early hours of 1 May.
Three adults, including the pilot, died as a result of the crash, and their bodies were found inside the plane.
The four children, aged 13, nine, four and 11 months, survived the impact.
President Gustavo Petro confirmed news of their rescue on Twitter.
"After arduous searching by our military, we have found alive the four children who went missing after a plane crash in Guaviare. A joy for the country," he said.
Preliminary information from the civil aviation authority, which coordinated the rescue efforts, suggests the children escaped the plane and set off into the rainforest to find help.
Rescuers supported by search dogs had previously found discarded fruit the children ate to survive, as well as improvised shelters made with jungle vegetation.
Planes and helicopters from Colombia's army and air force took part in the rescue operations.
- Reuters
