New footprints revive hope in Colombia of discovering 4 youngsters lacking in jungle

The discovery in current days of small footprints in a southern jungle-covered a part of Colombia has rekindled hope of discovering alive 4 youngsters who survived a small aircraft crash and went lacking a month in the past.

Searchers discovered footprints Tuesday about 2 miles ( 3.2 kilometers) northwest of the place the aircraft crashed May 1 with three adults and 4 indigenous youngsters aged 13, 9 and 4 and 11 months, Gen. Pedro Sánchez, commander of the Joint Command of Special Operations mentioned in an interview with The Associated Press.

The searchers consider they have been of the oldest little one, a lady, and the brand new clue might point out that the group has modified course.

More than 100 members of Colombia’s particular forces and greater than 70 indigenous folks from the realm have joined the search by means of virgin jungle within the Colombia Amazon. Some troopers have walked practically 1000 miles (nealy 1,500 kilometers), or virtually the space from Lisbon to Paris, Sánchez mentioned.

“We have a 100% expectation of finding them alive,” Sánchez mentioned, however mentioned the search is extraordinarily troublesome work. “It’s not like finding a needle in a haystack, it’s like finding a tiny flea in a huge rug that moves in unpredictable directions.”

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has mentioned discovering the youngsters is a precedence, and Sánchez mentioned no deadline has been set for wrapping up the search.

PHOTOS: New footprints revive hope in Colombia of discovering 4 youngsters lacking in jungle

“We found elements that are very complex to find in the jungle. For example, the lid of a baby bottle. If we’ve found that, why don’t we find the rest? Because the children are on the move,” Sánchez mentioned.

About two weeks after the crash, the stays of the plane have been discovered together with the our bodies of the pilot and two different adults touring aboard. The youngsters weren’t discovered, however there have been clear indications that they had survived the crash.

Searchers consider the youngsters possible are nonetheless alive as a result of in any other case animals would have been drawn to their stays, Sánchez mentioned.

Special forces troopers are working in rotations and should take care of as much as 16 hours a day of rain that may wipe out any tracks of the youngsters. They additionally should courageous wild animals similar to jaguars, ocelots, toxic snakes and mosquitos that carry ailments, Sánchez mentioned.

The troopers additionally danger getting misplaced within the dense jungle, the place visibility might be lower than 20 meters (yards). “If they move more than 20 meters away, they can get lost,” Sánchez mentioned.

The troopers consider that the footprints discovered Tuesday are that of the 13-year-old woman based mostly on their dimension.

The jungle areas which were searched have been marked off with tape and whistles have been left in case the youngsters come throughout these areas and might use them to name assist.

The search groups even have been blasting the realm with recordings of the voice of the youngsters’s grandmother, although heavy rains have been drowning out the sound, Sánchez mentioned.

Among the clues that commandos have discovered over the previous few weeks are a bottle, some towels, used diapers, some scissors and footprints in locations comparatively near the place the place the accident occurred. It has not been potential to determine whether or not the youngsters deserted these belongings deliberately to depart clues to those that are searching for them.