The extraordinary story of how four kids survived 40 days in the Amazon jungle, after a plane crash.

For over a month now, Colombian armed forces have been working tirelessly to search for survivors of a plane crash in the Amazon jungle.

Considering the stakes were high and the odds were against any chance of survival, officials had been anticipating a recovery mission rather than rescue.

But over the weekend, it's emerged that four children survived the plane crash — and have lived to tell the tale. 

It all started on May 1, after a small plane crashed in the country's southern region of Guaviare in the Amazonas province. The plane had suffered an engine failure, and the pilot called in for emergency assistance before crashing.

The four children, the children's mother and two pilots were onboard when the light aircraft crashed in the jungle. The bodies of the mother and two pilots were soon recovered, but the kids were nowhere to be seen. 

Watch: see the story of the kids who survived in the Amazon jungle. Post continues below.

The next few weeks were a mammoth effort from Colombian authorities, the missing kids becoming the focus of a large rescue operation involving dozens of soldiers and local people.

The kids were all siblings – 13-year-old Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, nine-year-old Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, four-year-old Tien Noriel Ronoque Mucutuy, and 11-month-old Cristin Neriman Ranoque Mucutuy.

The Colombian armed forces flew 150 soldiers with dogs to the area to search for the siblings. Dozens of volunteers from Indigenous tribes also joined the search efforts.

The children's grandmother told local news outlets that her family is Indigenous, adding that one helicopter scoping the jungle blasted out a recorded message from her in the Huitoto language telling them to stop moving through the jungle. 

Soldiers in helicopters also dropped boxes of food into the jungle for the children to hopefully find.

During the search, signs that the children were alive began to emerge. This included footprints, a baby bottle, diapers, hair ties, a pair of children's purple scissors, improvised shelters made with jungle vegetation, and fruit with what appeared to be human bite marks.

The baby bottle, pair of scissors and scrunchies found during the search. Image: Colombia’s Armed Forces Press Office.

The remnants of the plane involved in the crash. Image: Colombia’s Armed Forces Press Office.

The children's grandfather said the older siblings had some knowledge of how to survive in the rainforest.

And it's this knowledge and survival instincts that ultimately saved them.

This weekend, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro confirmed the kids had been found by soldiers involved in the rescue effort. Overall, the kids survived on their own for 40 days. 

They were found to be dealing with dehydration, exhaustion and little food intake, but otherwise, in decent health considering the circumstances. 

The military tweeted pictures showing a group of soldiers and volunteers posing with the children, who were wrapped in thermal blankets. One of the soldiers held a bottle to the smallest child's lips, aged just 11 months.

The kids are now receiving treatment at a military hospital in the country's capital, Bogota. The President has also visited them.

Desde Argentina hasta Francia, distintos medios alrededor del mundo hicieron eco al milagro sucedido en las selvas colombianas del #Guaviare.

Conéctate con #ElNoticieroDeTodos para estar al tanto de la recuperación de los cuatro menores. https://t.co/FTusYWlqDy

— RTVC Noticias (@RTVCnoticias) June 10, 2023

Esperanza. pic.twitter.com/XH77zuVX6R

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) June 10, 2023

#AEstaHora |

El presidente @petrogustavo, la Primera Dama, @Veronicalcocerg, y el ministro, @Ivan_Velasquez_, visitan a los menores rescatados en la selva del Guaviare, que están siendo atendidos en el Hospital Militar.

Los detalles en 👉https://t.co/EtkhOTplTi pic.twitter.com/GYdh0BkRYn

— RTVC Noticias (@RTVCnoticias) June 10, 2023

Damaris Mucutuy, an aunt of the children, told a radio station that "the children are fine" despite being found with signs of dehydration and insect bites. Mucutuy, who arrived at the hospital with other family members, said the children had been offered mental health services.

Authorities were able to locate the children after hearing the cries of the infant, Indigenous leader Lucho Acosta told CNN. Acosta is the coordinator of Indigenous scouts in the Colombian Amazon region who assisted in the search.

"They were very weak, we could find them by listening to the cries of the youngest one, but they were really tired, they were no longer on the move, like in the first few weeks," Acosta said. "The place we found them is about three hours from the site of the crash, walking through the jungle. It's a very short distance, but in the jungle terrain it takes a long time to move around."

When the whole rescue team heard that the kids had been found and were safe, Acosta said, "a lot of people shed a tear or two".

President Gustavo Petro has celebrated the news of these four missing children being found, saying the kids are an "example of survival" and predicted their story "will remain in history".

"We never stopped looking for them until the miracle came. The jungle saved them," Petro said. "They are children of the jungle, and now they are also children of Colombia."

Feature Image: Twitter.