Five individuals survived a harrowing 36 hours on a submerged plane in an alligator-infested swamp in Bolivia after an emergency landing due to engine failure. Rescued in good health, the group awaited help surrounded by predatory wildlife.
Extraordinary Rescue: Five Survivors Endure 36 Hours Amid Alligator-Infested Waters After Plane Crash
Extraordinary Rescue: Five Survivors Endure 36 Hours Amid Alligator-Infested Waters After Plane Crash
A small plane's emergency landing in a Bolivian swamp leads to a miraculous survival story amid lurking alligators.
Five people are safe following a tense 36 hours stranded on a downed plane in a treacherous, alligator-filled swamp in Bolivia's Amazonas region. The aircraft went missing after experiencing engine failure and was discovered by local fishermen on Friday, two days after it vanished from radar.
The survivors—a 29-year-old pilot, three women, and a child—were reportedly rescued in "excellent condition," according to Wilson Avila, the director of the Beni Department's emergency operations center. Their ordeal began when the pilot, Andres Velarde, was compelled to make an emergency landing near the Itanomas River during a flight from Baures to Trinidad.
As the hours passed, the group took refuge atop the submerged plane, while alligators circled ominously just meters away. Velarde recounted that the leaking fuel might have deterred the predators, although they still spotted an anaconda lurking in the water. To sustain themselves, they consumed cassava flour that one of the passengers had brought along, as they struggled without fresh water.
A coordinated rescue operation ensued after the plane's disappearance was reported, culminating in a helicopter evacuation that ensured the survivors received immediate medical attention. Ruben Torres from the Beni Region Health Department expressed gratitude for the successful collaboration among multiple agencies to locate and rescue the missing individuals.
