Five survivors saved in Alligator swamp after the plane crash

Five survivors saved in Alligator swamp after the plane crash

Five people were saved in an alligator -infested swamp in the Bolivian Amazon almost two days after their aircraft crashed. The small plane in which the pilot, three women and one child were crashed on Wednesday, but the group was only saved on Friday morning, the Bolivian Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

survival situation after the crash

None of the occupants suffered serious injuries and they survived the accident with chocolate and manio meal. The aircraft had lifted in the municipality of Baures in northern Bolivia and was on its way to the city of Trinidad, confirmed the ministry. An hour after the start, the pilot reported technical problems before contacting the machine broke off.

emergency landing and dangerous conditions

The pilot, which was identified by local media as a 27-year-old Pablo Andrés Velarde, was able to carry out an emergency landing, but put on near an alligator nest, as he informed the local broadcaster Unitel. "We fell into a swamp, right next to it was an alligator nest. But thanks to the fuel that had leaked out of the plane, the water and the strong smell contaminated it, not quite, but they did not come closer to attack us," he explained in an interview from his hospital bed on Friday.

emotional return to normality

a survivor, Mirtha Fuentes, reported in the local media of their emotional unbelief after the plane crash has survived. "We all cried with joy because we are alive, with bruises, but lively and very happy, thanks to God and the quick thinking and the intelligence of the pilot," she said to Unitel.

search and rescue operation

The Ministry of Defense of Bolivia and civil defense had activated a search and rescue operation, but the first 48 hours were made more difficult by "adverse weather conditions", according to the ministry. However, they could not make up several flights over the survivors, reported local media.

rescue of the survivors

The group survived of rationed food that the pilot had recovered from the partially dipped aircraft before it was discovered by fishermen early on Friday morning. The five survivors were flown to the city of Trinidad with a rescue helicopter from the Bolivian Air Force, the Ministry of Defense said.

prospects after the rescue

"Thanks to the work of our specialized employees, the five saved people, including a child, are now alive. We are doing everything we can to bring them into safe areas and provide them with the necessary medical care," said Bolivian President Luis Arce in an explanation.