Two indigenous children, severely malnourished, were found strayed for 25 days in the Brazilian Amazon, where they ate only wild fruits.
Januario Carneiro da Cunha Neto, the coordinator of the Indigenous Health District in Manaus, the capital of the Amazon state where the two children went missing, said that Glucon and Glissen were found by a relative on Tuesday "35 km from where they went missing" and were suffering from "severe malnutrition and dehydration." ".
This official pointed out that the two children "gained weight and the danger to their lives is removed" after receiving hospital care.
The two brothers, who belong to the Mora ethnic group, have been missing since February 18, the day they went out to hunt birds in the forest in Manikuri district, 330 km from Manaus.
Baby Glocon arrives at a hospital in Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon state (French)
Da Cunha Nieto explained that during their stay in the forest, the two children "drank only rainwater and lakes, and ate the surfa", a fruit rich in carbohydrates and fats.
The mother of the two children, Rosinetti da Silva Carvalho, and 10 others, gave a statement to local media, saying, "They usually ate sorfa." The mother said, "My eldest son always took a bag with him when he went out hunting."
Scenes broadcast by local media showed the two children in a severely weak state after they were rescued.
They were found by chance, as official searches were suspended a week after their disappearance.
The coordinator of the Indigenous Health District in Manaus said, "One of the family's acquaintances went to look for firewood and stumbled upon the two children."
During the long days when the two children failed to find their way home, the eldest Gleason (9 years) took care of his younger brother (7 years) and carried him on his back while he was exhausted from the lack of food and water.
This incident reminds of an adventure experienced in early 2021 by pilot Antonio Sina, as his tourist plane crashed and he was lost in the Amazon, where he spent 38 days.