Survivors Rescued After 36 Hours in Alligator-Infested Swamp Following Plane Crash

Five people, including a child, miraculously survived for 36 hours in an alligator-infested swamp after their plane crashed, awaiting rescue atop the submerged aircraft.

Five survivors have been rescued from a harrowing ordeal after spending 36 hours perched atop a small plane that made an emergency landing in a swamp filled with alligators in Bolivia's Amazonas region. Local fishermen discovered the aircraft on Friday, two days after it had gone missing, prompting a frantic search and rescue operation.

Among the rescued were three women, a young child, and a 29-year-old pilot named Andres Velarde. According to Wilson Avila, the head of the emergency operations center in Beni, the group was found in "excellent condition." They had been flying from Baures to Trinidad when engine troubles forced Velarde to land the aircraft close to the Itanomas River.

The pilot recounted the alarming moments when the plane began to descend rapidly, ultimately landing in a remote swamp area. As the five individuals waited for help, they found themselves surrounded by alligators, coming dangerously close, but Velarde speculated that leaking petrol from the plane created a barrier that might have deterred the predators. The survivors also spotted an anaconda in the water during their vigil.

With no access to drinking water, the group relied on cassava flour, which one of the passengers had packed. "We couldn’t drink water and we couldn’t go anywhere else because of the alligators," Velarde explained about their tense circumstances.

Their eventual discovery by local fishermen led to a helicopter rescue. Ruben Torres, the Health Department Director of the Beni Region, expressed his relief at the successful rescue, emphasizing the collective effort of various institutions that worked together to locate and safeguard the missing individuals.