How Indigenous kids survived 40 days in Colombia's jungle after a plane crash

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — The rescue last week of four Indigenous children, including a baby, after 40 days lost in the Amazon jungle was made possible by a combination of modern technology and Indigenous knowhow, according to those involved in the search operation.

The children — ages 13, 9, and 4 plus an 11-month-old baby — survived a deadly plane crash that killed their mother.

Then, led by the eldest, a girl named Lesly, they managed to find food, water and shelter in the rainforest until Colombian special forces who had teamed up with Indigenous guides finally found them.

"We were convinced that they were alive and that's what kept us going," Lt. Col. Óscar Garzón, a Colombian Army officer who advised the rescue team, tells NPR.

The children — Lesly, Soleiny, Tien and Cristin — are members of the Huitoto Indigenous group. They were traveling from the southern town