Siblings Who Survived Amazon Rainforest Plane Crash Released from the Hospital in ‘Perfect’ Health

Four young siblings — the oldest 13 and the youngest just an infant — who miraculously survived 40 days in the Amazon jungle after a plane crash in May have all been released from the hospital in "perfect" shape, Colombian officials shared. 

Astrid Cáceres, director of the Colombian Children Welfare Agency, told journalists in a press conference that the siblings were released Friday from Colombia's Military Hospital in Bogota where they have been receiving treatment since they were found on June 9.

They have been transferred to a shelter home.

“Considering everything they went through, they are actually well,” Cáceres said. “Their physical health is perfect, and in the hospital, they started receiving care from a team of psychologists and anthropologists.”

Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 13; Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9; Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4; and Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy, 1, were the only survivors of the May 1 crash in southern Colombia that killed all the other passengers on the plane, including their mother, Magdalena Mucutuy Valencia, and the pilot. 

The children became the focus of a massive search that involved Colombian special forces and scores of indigenous scouts who scoured the rainforest for clues to their whereabouts, including dirty diapers, a bottle and footprints.

Lesly, the oldest, was credited with keeping her siblings alive during the ordeal, relying on the hunting, fishing and foraging skills she learned from her indigenous grandmother and other family members of the Huitoto community.

Colombia is taking temporary custody of the children while the legal process on who will ultimately get legal custody works its way through the courts. 

The maternal grandparents and the father of the two youngest children are seeking custody. 

Cáceres said the "complex family situation" should be sorted out in about six months.