“The Alligators and Anacondas Just Watched Us All Night Long”
A routine flight over the Bolivian Amazon turned into a nightmare when a light plane crash-landed in an anaconda and alligator-infested swamp. Five passengers—a child, three women, and a teenage pilot—endured 36 harrowing hours sitting atop the overturned wreckage awaiting rescue.
The crash occurred early this week, just 27 minutes after takeoff from Baures en route to the provincial capital Trinidad. The plane’s only engine failed mid-air, forcing 27-year-old pilot Pablo Andrés Velarde to make an emergency landing. Spotting an open patch near a lagoon, Velarde aimed for it. The impact flipped the aircraft, plunging it into the swamp upside-down.
Despite injuries—including a serious head wound sustained by 37-year-old Patricia Coria Guary—the survivors managed to escape the submerged cabin and climb onto the fuselage. With no clean water and surrounded by fuel-contaminated swamp, they survived on cassava flour one of the women had packed as a snack.
“We couldn’t sleep—the mosquitoes never stopped bothering us,” Velarde reported from his hospital bed in Trinidad. “The alligators and snakes eyed us the whole night long, but didn’t get any closer.”
Velarde speculated that the spilled jet fuel might have repelled the predators, though this remains unverified scientifically. Dr. Luis Soruco, head of the local hospital, confirmed that all five survivors were in stable condition. While Coria Guary remains hospitalized due to an infected wound, the others were treated and released for dehydration, chemical burns, insect bites, and lacerations.
The group was rescued on Friday when local fishermen noticed them waving shirts and flashing cell phone lights. They were transported by canoe to safety, where a military helicopter evacuated them to medical facilities.
“We couldn’t have survived another night,” Velarde admitted.
Dramatic rescue footage released by Bolivia’s Vice Ministry of Civil Defense provided a rare bright spot for a country grappling with political and economic strife. Vice Minister Edmundo Novillo commended the effort, stating, “This achievement is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of our emergency crews. They saved lives.”
In Bolivia’s Amazon frontier, small aircraft serve as vital transport links—especially during the rainy season when roads become impassable. This particular flight was for a medical check-up for Coria Guary’s 6-year-old nephew. Instead, it turned into a test of survival in one of the most dangerous wildlife habitats on Earth.
