The four indigenous children rescued from the Amazon jungle in Colombia were discharged from hospital Thursday night after a month of treatment at a military hospital, the national child protection agency, which will have temporary custody of the children, said on Friday.
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“They have (…) gained weight again, they are even doing very well,” said Astrid Caceres, director of the Colombian Institute for Family Protection (ICBF), during a press conference.
Lesly, 13, Soleiny, 9, Tien Noriel, 5, and Cristin, 1, have been hospitalized at Bogota Military Hospital since their rescue on June 9.
Ms Caceres said there were no physical consequences from the 40-day trek through the Amazon jungle, where they ended up after a plane crash that killed her mother and two other adults.
Even Cristin, who was less than a year old when the plane crashed on May 1, is “fully recovered in terms of physical development,” the official added.
So far only pictures are known of when a group of natives found them in the vegetation. The video filmed with the mobile phone shows her emaciated and terribly thin.
In the hospital, they received special treatment and were fed preparations made by the Uitoto tribe to which they belong, such as cassava flour.
The ICBF said it would retain guardianship of the siblings for at least six months as “further investigation into the children’s circumstances and family background” was needed.
After the rescue, a dispute arose between the maternal grandparents and the father of the two youngest children over custody of them. According to a complaint by the grandfather, the man abused the mother.
In the meantime, they will live with other children in an ICBF shelter, the location of which has not been disclosed. Ms. Caceres merely assured them that they lived in a rural area where they would “feel comfortable”.
The Colombian government jealously protected the siblings from any media exposure. President Gustavo Petro recently announced the preparation of a documentary about their survival in the jungle.