Siblings rescued in Colombian Amazon gaining health: hospital

Four Indigenous children rescued in the Colombian Amazon last week after surviving in the jungle for 40 days are in good health but still at “high risk” of infection, the military hospital treating them said Thursday.
The children’s medical evaluation was “favorable,” it said in a statement, and they were reacting well to a gradual increase in their food intake after weeks of surviving on just berries, fruits and roots.

Lesly (13), Soleiny (9), Tien Noriel (5) and one-year-old Cristin were the only survivors of a small plane crash in the Amazon on May 1.

All three adults on board, including their mother died.

It took nearly 200 military and Indigenous rescuers with search dogs 40 days to track down the siblings in difficult jungle conditions. They were weak and hungry when found.

“From an infection point of view, they are still considered at high risk due to their nutritional deficit,” the hospital statement said.

Relatives say the children managed to survived thanks to Lesly’s deep knowledge of survival in the jungle, with its many inherent dangers — including snakes, predatory animals and armed criminal groups.

Dozens of soldiers remain on the search for Wilson, a dog that formed part of the rescue mission for the children, but went missing in the jungle.

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