Five people have survived 36 hours surrounded by alligators after their plane crashed into a swamp in Bolivia’s Amazon region, according to the pilot.
The group, which included a child, three women and the pilot, were rescued by helicopter on Friday, Bolivian officials confirmed.
The small aircraft was flying from Baures to Trinidad in Beni Department when the pilot had to make an emergency landing.
The pilot described it as a “tough landing” and said the plane flipped over after hitting the swamp.
He said the massive alligators came within three metres of them. “They stayed three to four metres away from us all day and night but never got to us,” he told local media.
The pilot used his phone’s flashlight to spot the animals and said the smell of leaking petrol might have kept them away.
They also saw snakes in the water and were swarmed by mosquitoes.
The group had no water and survived only on cassava flour salvaged from the wreckage.
Eventually, they heard a fishing boat nearby, and the pilot signalled using his phone light while shouting for help.
A helicopter later airlifted them to a hospital.
“We were happy because we would not survive another night,” said the pilot, Mr Velarde. “We were very tired. We couldn’t stand anymore, because we had to stand so we could keep an eye on the animals.”
Ruben Torres, head of the Beni health department, said there had been “many theories” about the missing plane.
“I’m really happy that all the institutions worked together to save the missing people. Now they’re getting the care they need, and being with their families is what matters,” he said.
