“A pleasing message for the country”, writes the president.
The pilot, the children’s mother and another adult died in the crash on May 1, while the four children on board survived the accident.
The children – aged 13, 9 and 4 years and 11 months respectively – are believed to have crawled out of the wreckage and into the surrounding rainforest in search of help.
A large operation involving more than 100 soldiers and search dogs has been underway in Caqueta in southern Colombia for more than two weeks.
Three helicopters have also been used, one of which carried a recorded message from the children’s grandmother urging the children not to move around in the rainforest.
Found shelter and food scraps
The search intensified on Wednesday when a small shelter built of twigs and branches was found, raising hopes that there were survivors. They have also previously found a baby bottle and a half-eaten fruit.
The aircraft – a Cessna 206 – was on its way from the Araracuara region to the city of San José Del Guaviare. The pilot reported engine problems and a few minutes later the plane disappeared from the radar. Air transport is common in the area, where there are few roads.