Children from the jungle living in a legal battle over their care.
A year after they were saved, four siblings from an indigenous tribe who survived a plane crash and lived in the Amazon rainforest for 40 days are now in state care in Colombia. The Colombian Institute for Family Welfare shared a picture of the four kids with their faces hidden on platform X on Sunday (local time).
According to reports, the kids are thriving. "The Mucutuy siblings are having a great time and learning new things every day. They're being cared for by a team that understands their unique culture and helps them keep their traditions alive while they're away from their original territory." It's still unclear who will take custody of them.
This past Sunday also marked one year since their miraculous rescue in Colombia. A special event was held at a military base in Bogota, where soldiers involved in the "Operation Hope" mission reunited with the indigenous volunteers who helped with the rescue.
A Fatal Plane Crash
The three Huitoto tribe children were 13, 9, and 4 years old, and 1-year-old when their small plane crashed in the rainforest. Their mother, Magdalena Mucutuy, and the other two adults on board were sadly killed in the accident. For the weeks that followed, the youngsters survived by eating fruits and seeds they found in the forest before they were finally discovered on June 9, 2023, by rescue workers.
After their rescue, a fight for custody of the kids ensued. Their maternal grandparents wanted their grandchildren, but the biological father of the two youngest kids had lived with them and their mom for several years before the crash.
The man was taken into custody in August of last year, charged with sexually abusing one of the children before the accident. In October, the Colombian prosecutor accused him of sexually abusing a minor and he firmly denies the allegations, planning to contest them in an upcoming trial.
On Sunday, some of the children's family members gathered with soldiers and volunteers from the previous year's "Operation Hope" mission. They attended a service, shared a barbecue with the rescue team, and gave short interviews to the local media. Fatima Valencia, the grandmothers of the kids, told Caracol TV, "I'm sad because I'm still not with my grandchildren," but she was also "very grateful to everyone who helped in their rescue."
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Despite the children's thriving in state care, the custody battle over the Mucutuy siblings continues to be an international issue due to competing claims from their maternal grandparents and the biological father.
In the aftermath of the plane crash in Colombia, which claimed the lives of their mother and two adults, the international community has shown interest in the welfare and future of these Indigenous children.
