Four children have been found alive after surviving a horror plane crash and spending weeks alone in Colombia's Amazon jungle.
The children were all siblings, aged 13, nine, four, and one - with Colombia's president Gustavo Petro stating that their rescue was "a joy for the whole country," per BBC.
They had survived alone in the jungle for a whopping 40 days.
It has been reported that the children's mother, as well as two pilots, were killed on May 1 when their light aircraft crashed into the jungle, sparking a huge rescue operation involving Colombian soldiers and groups of locals.
Petro told reporters on Friday (June 9) that finding the children was a "magical day." He added: "They were alone, they themselves achieved an example of total survival which will remain in history. These children are today the children of peace and the children of Colombia."
The president also told news outlets that the children had managed to survive by "learning from indigenous families", and that their story was an example of "total survival that will be remembered in history." The 63-year-old commended the siblings, saying: "They are children of the jungle and now they are children of Colombia."
CNN reported that the children's grandmother María Fátima Valencia said she was "going to hug all of them" and "thank everyone" as soon as she was reunited with them in their hometown of Villavicencio, central Colombia. "I'm going to encourage them, I'm going to push them forward, I need them here," she stated.
According to the outlet the children - who appeared to be malnourished in images released online - were evaluated by doctors before eventually being flown out to the Military Transport Air Command in Bogota by the Colombian Air Force on Saturday (June 10).
Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez praised the indigenous communities and the Colombian military for locating and assisting the children, revealing that four medics provided treatment to them on board the plane. "We hope that tomorrow they will be treated at the military hospital," Velasquez said.
Not much else is known about the children's condition, with Petro saying that they were weak, needed food, and were also set to undergo a mental status assessment. "Let the doctors make their assessment and we will know," he said.
Netizens on Twitter have been overjoyed at the news, with one person writing (translated from Spanish): "Congratulations President! You did not lose heart and found them. Recognition to you for this, to the military and the indigenous people! I had already lost faith, but not you."
Another tweet read: "Thanks to the government's effort to keep up the relentless search, thanks to the army for keeping faith intact."
President Petro had been accused of giving the public "false hope" after he prematurely announced that the children had been found 23 days before their actual rescue, per the Daily Mail.
Nevertheless, amongst the chaos in the world right now, news of the children's rescue is a welcome change.
