Clues suggest children survived Colombian jungle plane crash as officials race to find them

The Colombian Armed Forces launched a massive search operation, supported by dog units, local indigenous communities, planes and helicopters, which flew over the region broadcasting a message recorded by the childrens’ grandmother.

The charter company whose aircraft crashed told CNN they are still waiting to contact the children, reiterating they have not received proof of their arrival.

Giselle Lopez, co-owner of Avianline Charters SAS said the bodies of the three adults who were killed in the crash are yet to be recovered.

“We just pray (to) god that in a few hours we all have the news we are waiting for, and see these kids: you must understand, the storms there are really strong, sometimes we lose radio contact for over an hour due to the electrical storms, and with these rains the navigation over the river is difficult, there are debris and strong currents on that river,” Lopez added.

President Petro posted a new message on social media Thursday, noting that the information provided by Colombia’s Family Affairs Institute on Wednesday evening has yet to be confirmed.

On Wednesday evening, Petro tweeted that the Colombian Armed Forces had found the four children alive, but his post was deleted Thursday morning local time, prompting much speculation in local media.