Survivors Rescued After Plane Crash in Bolivia’s Jungle Swamp

Five people—including a 6-year-old boy—were rescued Friday after surviving a harrowing 36-hour ordeal in an alligator- and anaconda-infested lagoon in Bolivia’s Amazon jungle.

The small plane, en route from Baures to Trinidad, suffered engine failure just 27 minutes after takeoff and crash-landed near a swamp. The impact flipped the aircraft upside down into the water. Injured and soaked in jet fuel, the pilot and four passengers clung to the wreckage to avoid the predators circling nearby.

“The alligators and snakes watched us all night, but didn’t come close,” said 27-year-old pilot Pablo Andrés Velarde. He believes spilled fuel may have repelled the animals. The group had no drinking water and survived on cassava flour and chocolate until fishermen found them by chance and alerted the authorities.

All five were airlifted to safety. Though dehydrated and covered in insect bites, they are in stable condition. Only one woman remains hospitalized for an infected head wound.

“We couldn’t have handled one more night,” Velarde said.