[troutman]

https://www.npr.org/2023/06/11/11815...genous%20group.

Manuel Ranoque, father of the two youngest children, told reporters outside the hospital Sunday that the oldest of the four surviving children — 13-year-old Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy — told him their mother was alive for about four days after the plane crashed on May 1 in the Colombian jungle.

Authorities and family members have said the children survived eating cassava flour and seeds, and that some familiarity with the rainforest's fruits were also key to their survival. The kids are members of the Huitoto Indigenous group.

Gen. Pedro Sanchez, who was in charge of the rescue efforts, said that the children were found 5 kilometers (3 miles) away from the crash site in a small forest clearing. He said rescue teams had passed within 20 to 50 meters (66 to 164 feet) of where the children were found on a couple of occasions but had missed them.