A mother kept herself and her infant son alive for
four days in a dense jungle of Colombia after the plane that they were
passengers in crashed and caught fire.
María Nelly Murillo Moreno, 19, suffered a broken ankle
when the plane that she and her 5-month-old boy were flying in crashed Saturday
in the western Colombian department of Chocó.
The mother also suffered burns, according to the
Colombian air force, after the plane caught fire on impact. She was burned
while taking the baby out as fast as she could to save his life.
Col. Rodrigo Zapata of the Colombian air force told CNN
the plane crashed at 1 p.m. Saturday, 15 minutes after takeoff from Nuquí
Airport in Chocó. It was bound for Quibdó, a city in the same department. It
should have been a 30-minute flight.
The pilot, identified as Carlos Mario Ceballos, died in
the crash. An air force search-and-rescue team found his body and the wreckage
Sunday morning. The crash is under investigation.
"It's a case that caught our attention from the
beginning," Zapata said. "First of all, it was amazing that even
though the cockpit was destroyed, the cabin area sustained very little damage,
which explains part of the reason why mother and son survived."
Murillo left traces to help rescuers find them, including
the baby's birth certificate, her cell phone, a diaper bag and the pilot's
wallet.
According to Zapata, loud speakers fitted to the bottom
of search helicopters helped in the hunt for the pair. The mother heard the
speakers and returned to an area near the crash, where rescuers ultimately
found her and her son Wednesday.
The air force colonel also said the infant was still
breastfeeding and the mother drank coconut water to remain hydrated. When they
were rescued, the baby was remarkably in good shape: He only had an irritated
bottom because the mother had run out of diapers.
A helicopter flew the two to a hospital in Quibdó. They
were scheduled to be transferred Thursday evening to a bigger hospital in
Medellín.
"I have a lot of respect for this mother,"
Zapata said. "First of all, she realized she had to get out of the plane
with her son right away and managed to open the cabin door in spite of the fact
that she had an ankle fracture. She went to great lengths to protect her baby
from injury, even suffering multiple burns as she took him out of the burning
aircraft."
The air force colonel said the mother used the little
food she had in the baby's diaper bag wisely.
"She survived because she never gave up," he
said. "She's a very brave woman and a role model."
Source: (CNN)
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