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A month after their rescue from the Colombian jungle, the four siblings Cristin, Tien Noriel, Soleiny and Lesly have been released from the hospital. The children had “gained weight again, they are even doing very well”, said the head of the Institute for Family Welfare, Astrid Cáceres, Friday in the capital Bogotá.

The children of the Huitoto indigenous people had survived for 40 days after a May 1 plane crash in the Amazon rainforest of southern Colombia. The pilot and the children’s mother were killed in the accident. The children, ages 1 to 13, struggled alone through the perilous jungle for weeks before they were found on June 9.

The hardships had no long-term physical consequences for the children, Cáceres said. Even little Cristin, who was less than a year old when the plane crashed, was “fully recovered” and developing normally. The authorities will keep the siblings under their care for at least six months, because “further investigation into the circumstances and family environment” of the children is necessary.

After the rescue, there was a dispute over custody of the children between the maternal grandparents and the father of the two youngest children. The children are now temporarily housed in a children’s home, the location of which has not been disclosed. Chief of Authority Cáceres said only that the children would live in the countryside, where they would feel “at home”. (saw/sda)