‘Survival game’ taught hero sister to avoid poison fruit and keep siblings alive in Amazon jungle

Incredible new details have emerged revealing exactly how four siblings stranded in the Amazon jungle for 40 days managed to survive.

The four children who were found alive six weeks after a plane crash survived by using hair ribbons for shelter and experience from a “survival game”, two proud family members revealed.

Eldest sister Lesly, 13, took care of younger brothers Soleiny, 9, Tien Noriel, 4, and one-year-old Cristin after the group became stranded in the Amazon jungle.

They were travelling with their mother Magdalena Mucutui Valencia, the pilot and an indigenous leader at the time of the crash, with all three adults losing their lives in the accident.

The Colombian military located the plane they were travelling in after the incident, however, the four children were nowhere to be found, sparking an intense search.

The group was later located 40 days after the crash, with the children in a relatively good condition other than being dehydrated, malnourished and covered in insect bites.

The children were found by a sniffer dog and soldiers 40 days after their plane crashed. Picture: Handout/Colombian Army/AFP

Now, their grandmother and aunt have detailed the miraculous way the children clung to life as they were forced to fend for themselves in the middle of the Amazon.

Aunt Damarys Mucutui believes a “survival game” two of the children played prepared them for the ordeal.

“When we played, we set up little camps,” she told Colombian news broadcaster Caracol Television.

“ (Lesly) knew (there were) fruits she can’t eat because there are many poisonous fruits in the forest. And she knew how to take care of a baby.”

The children’s grandmother, Fatima Valencia, also spoke out after the rescue, saying she was very grateful to “mother Earth” the children had been “set free”.

She also explained the eldest child knew how to look after her brothers because she was responsible for them when her mother would go to work, according to the BBC.

“She gave them flour and cassava bread, any fruit in the bush, they know what they must consume,” she said.

One of the four children being stretchered to a medical facility after surviving 40 days in the jungle. Picture: Handout/Colombian Army/AFP

The plane the children were travelling on crashed after its pilot issued a mayday call. Picture: Handout/Colombian Army/AFP

She also told reporters: “I never lost hope, I was always supporting the search. I feel very happy, I thank President Petro and my countrymen who went through so many difficulties”.

Ms Valencia raised the children, according to Guanano group leader John Moreno, who is a key figure in the southeastern part of Colombia where the siblings grew up.

“They used what they learned in the community, relied on their ancestral knowledge in order to survive,” he said, according to the Daily Mail.

The children are now receiving medical treatment at a military hospital situated in Colombia’s capital, Bogota.

The children are now safe and are receiving medical treatment. Picture: Handout/Colombian Army/AFP

‘Miracle, miracle, miracle, miracle’

The children and their mother were travelling on a Cessna 206 light aircraft flying from Araracuara in Amazonas province to San José del Guaviare in Colombia on May 1.

As the Amazon jungle is so dense, light planes or boats are usually the only means of transportation.

The passengers’ worst fears became a reality when the pilot was forced to issue a mayday alert due to engine failure.

The Colombian military responded to the incident, however, upon locating the plane, they found the bodies of the three deceased adults with no sign of the children.

The youngest child was one, and survived with the aid of his older sister, who is just 13. Picture: Handout/Colombian Army/AFP

Their disappearance led to a major search operation which involved dozens of soldiers and locals, with the group recovering several items left behind by the children throughout their search efforts.

This included a child’s drink bottle, a pair of scissors, a makeshift shelter, partially eaten fruit and a hair tie, which gave the search and rescue group a boost of hope that the children may still be alive.

But not only did the young family have to survive their own hunger and thirst, they also had to steer clear of the dangers of the jungle, including poisonous fruits and predatory animals like jaguars and snakes.

In a bid to help the children sustain their energy, boxes of food and bottles of water were dropped to the jungle floor.

The children's rescue from the jungle was a group effort. Picture: Juan Barreto/AFP

Around 10,000 pamphlets were also dropped into the forest by the air force, containing instructions in Spanish and the children‘s indigenous language, informing them to stay where they were as well as tips on how to survive.

Three helicopters were also deployed, including one which contained speakers that blasted out a recorded message from the children‘s’ grandmother in their native language, telling them to stop moving.

Dozens of people continued their search for the children for more than a month, with the group eventually found together alive earlier this week.

It’s understood a sniffer dog led a group of soldiers to the children, after following muddy footprints.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro (right) greeting a nurse while visiting children in hospital. Picture: Handout/Colombian Army/AFP

“Miracle, miracle, miracle, miracle,” members of the army said on radios upon finding the children, which is the code used when a child is found alive.

The word “miracle” was repeated four times to account for each sibling.

News the group had been found spread quickly across the country and the globe, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro celebrating the good news on Twitter.

“A joy for the whole country,” he wrote.

“The four children who were lost 40 days in the Colombian jungle appeared alive.”

“The jungle saved them. They are children of the jungle and now they are also children of Colombia,” he later said.