Jungle Ordeal After Crash: A small plane crash in the Bolivian jungle earlier this week marked the beginning of a harrowing 36-hour ordeal for the pilot and four passengers, including a 6-year-old boy. The aircraft flipped over into a lagoon infested with anacondas and alligators after smashing into the ground. The survivors clung to the plane’s wreckage until their rescue on Friday in the northeast of the Andean nation.
Dr. Luis Soruco, director of the hospital where the survivors were treated, reported that all five were conscious and in stable condition. The 37-year-old aunt of the young boy was the only one still hospitalized due to an infected gash on her head. The others were discharged and recovering from dehydration, minor chemical burns, infected cuts, bruises, and insect bites.
Pilot Pablo Andrés Velarde, 27, recounted the story that has captivated many Bolivians. He described the challenging conditions they faced, saying, “The mosquitoes wouldn’t let us sleep. The alligators and snakes watched us all night, but they didn’t come close.” Velarde speculated that the stench of jet fuel might have kept the predatory reptiles at bay, although there’s no scientific proof of its effectiveness as an alligator repellent.
The survivors sustained themselves by eating ground cassava flour that one of the women had brought as a snack. However, they had nothing to drink, as the lagoon water was contaminated with gasoline. Velarde expressed shock that the caimans didn’t attack them, given the circumstances.
Still on Jungle Ordeal After Crash
The small plane had departed from the Bolivian village of Baures, bound for Trinidad, where Patricia Coria Guary had a medical check-up scheduled for her 6-year-old nephew. Two other women, neighbors from Baures, joined them on the flight, which is a common form of transportation in this remote Amazonian region.
The plane’s lone engine cut out just 27 minutes into the flight, and Velarde reported their imminent crash over a portable radio. He aimed for a clearing near a lagoon but ended up crashing into the ground, injuring everyone on board. As the plane flooded, the five managed to clamber on top of the fuselage, where they stayed for two terrifying nights surrounded by caimans, anacondas, and swarms of insects.
On Friday, at the sound of approaching motorboats, “we started shining our cell phone flashlights and shouting,” Velarde said. A group of fishermen noticed them and helped them into their canoe. They called the authorities and delivered them to an army helicopter some hours later. Velarde expressed relief, saying, “We couldn’t have handled it one more night.”
