Mother and three children survive Colombian jungle by eating wild fruits for 34 days

A mother and her three children who got lost in the Colombian jungle were found 34 days later, battered and bruised but very much alive.

The mother, 40, and her three children, aged 14, 12 and 10, lost their way when they were set to meet with the children’s father whilst on holiday. He waited for a while for his family on Dec. 19, 2019 before realizing something had gone very wrong and immediately sought help from the police.

“They were on holiday in the region when they went to meet the children's father and became lost, remaining 34 days as missing,” General Sergio Alfredo Serrano, Commander of the Naval Force of Southern Colombia, told local media.

The woman and her children reportedly started wandering around the jungle barefoot. They survived by eating wild fruits and whatever they could get their hands on. After walking for 34 days they unknowingly come across a village near the Peruvian-Colombian border.

They were finally rescued by the Colombian navy after a Peruvian indigenous community discovered them and contacted Peruvian authorities.

The family members were evacuated and reunited with husband and father before they were hospitalized for malnutrition, excessive fluid loss and minor injuries.

“We lasted half an hour without drinking water and then we fainted. We had to drink water all the time and the girls were unable to walk,” the mother told local media after being rescued.