Five individuals were successfully rescued after enduring a 36-hour ordeal atop a plane stranded in an alligator-infested swamp in the Amazon following an emergency landing. The small plane was discovered by local fishermen in Bolivia’s Amazonas region on Friday, two days after it disappeared from radar in the central region of Bolivia. The rescued survivors, consisting of three women, a child, and the 29-year-old pilot, were found to be in “excellent condition,” as per Wilson Avila, the director of the Beni Department’s emergency operations center.
The search and rescue mission was initiated on Thursday after the plane’s disappearance from radar. The pilot informed local media about an engine failure causing the emergency landing near the Itanomas River during the flight from Baures in northern Bolivia to the city of Trinidad. The survivors had to stand on top of the plane and were surrounded by alligators that came mere three meters away from them. The pilot believed that the leakage of petrol from the plane prevented the predators from attacking. They also spotted an anaconda in the water during their stay.
The survivors managed to subsist on cassava flour that one of the passengers had brought, as they were unable to drink water or move from their position due to the presence of alligators. Once the fishermen located the plane, a helicopter was dispatched to transport the survivors to the hospital. Ruben Torres, the Director of the Beni Region Health Department, expressed relief and happiness over the collaborative efforts of various institutions that eventually led to the discovery and rescue of the missing individuals.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2y3p45p18o
