As the Colombian military frantically searches for four children missing after a jungle plane crash over two weeks ago, new details are emerging about the plane鈥檚 history 鈥� and local concerns over the safety of air travel in that part of the Amazon.
The single engine Cessna 206 HK-2803 that crashed into the rainforest on May 1 was carrying seven people, of which four were children.
Search and rescue teams have located three adult bodies, but only traces of the children, aged 11 months to 13 years old: a baby bottle, hair ties, a make-shift shelter and even what appeared to be small footprints.
Indigenous activists who mourned the deaths in a statement earlier this week said the crash was no surprise, accusing airline companies operating in the Amazon of chasing profits and the Colombian government of failing to uphold safety standards.
鈥淭he Colombian state is responsible for this tragedy and all those similar,鈥� indigenous advocacy group OPIAC said, alleging an 鈥渁bsolute negligence鈥� of controls and procedures for air safety in the area, and pointing out that indigenous people in the area have few alternative travel options.
Speaking to CNN, OPIAC president Julio Cesar Lopez pointed out that the ill-fated plane had previously crashed in the same region, on July 25, 2021.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear there are responsibilities to be investigated, and that will probably fall onto a judge. Everything we鈥檙e asking is for clarity, and we want to raise these issues with our Indigenous representatives in the institutions of the state,鈥� Cesar Lopez told CNN.
According to the Colombian civil aviation authority鈥檚 final report on the 2021 crash seen by CNN, the plane had been operating as an air ambulance in the Vaupés province when it came down in the middle of the jungle after experiencing engine problems shortly after takeoff.
The report states that the plane was built in 1982 and, prior to the 2021 crash, had accumulated over 10 thousand flight hours.
The three crew on the plane at that time only suffered minor injuries and were rescued by indigenous scouts, however the plane suffered considerable damage to the propeller, engine and wing section, the report states. Aviation engineers had to replace the entire front and left wing of the aircraft to make it airworthy again.
鈥淚t鈥檚 true that [the] plane crashed in the jungle, but nothing happened,鈥� said Giselle Lopez, owner of Avianline Charter鈥檚 SAS, the charter company that owns the aircraft, which also has a contract for air ambulance services in the Amazon region.
鈥淭hose planes are all insured, we repaired it and put it back to fly. Both the engine and the propeller were replaced, and the aircraft passed all the inspections by the Colombian civil aviation authority,鈥� Lopez told CNN.
CNN reached out to the Civil aviation authority and is awaiting comment. The 2021 report issued nine recommendations to both the airline and the Civil aviation authority to prevent similar accidents from taking place, including adding extra inspections to the engine and propeller of the planes and further training to pilots operating in the jungle.
MISSING FOR NEARLY THREE WEEKS
The missing children鈥檚 wellbeing has become a national concern in Colombia.
President Gustavo Petro drew global attention to the incident earlier this week with a tweet prematurely celebrating their rescue; he later deleted it, saying the news had not been confirmed.
Colombia鈥檚 military has taken pains to highlight its search and rescue efforts to the public, with Air Force General Pedro Sanchez on Friday saying that over 150 uniformed men had been deployed to 鈥渟aturate the jungle.鈥�
鈥淲e will search inch-by-inch until we find them,鈥� he vowed in an appearance on the military鈥檚 Instagram page.
On Friday, the military released a map of the area of operation, covering a stretch of jungle of over 300 square kilometres, roughly six times bigger than the island of Manhattan.
In addition to canine and search teams, rescuers have tried to make contact with the four children by broadcasting a recording of their grandmother鈥檚 voice speaking in the indigenous Huitoto language, their native tongue.
Relatives say the children knew the jungle well, and are holding out hope that they will be found alive.
鈥淢aybe they are hiding,鈥� said Fidencio Valencia, the children鈥檚 grandfather, speaking to Colombia鈥檚 Caracol TV on Thursday.
鈥淢aybe they don鈥檛 realize that they are looking for them; they are children鈥� but we hope that they are alive and have access to water, because water is life.鈥�
