Indigenous brothers aged eight and six found alive after almost four weeks lost in Amazon rainforest

Boys tell parents they found nothing to eat – surviving only on rainwater

Two young indigenous brothers have been found after being lost in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil for four weeks.

Glauco, 8, and Gleison Ferreira, 6, were taken to hospital after being found by chance by a tree cutter on Tuesday.

The brothers got lost on 18 February while trying to catch small birds in the jungle near Manicoré in Amazonas state, according to the BBC.

Following hospital treatment for malnourishment, the brothers are thought to be able to fully recover.

Hundreds of people looked for the boys for weeks following their disappearance. They got lost during the rainy season when it’s more difficult to move around the jungle.

The authorities ended their search on 24 February, but residents carried on, local media outlet Amazônia Real reported.

The boys were found by a man cutting down trees six kilometres (3.7 miles) from the village of Palmeira in the Lago Capanã protected land reserve where the boys and their parents live, according to Amazônia Real.

One of the brothers called for help when he could hear the sounds of the tree cutter, who then found the boys on the ground – starving, frail, and covered in skin abrasions.

Local media reported that the boys later told their parents that they hadn’t found anything to eat while they were gone, they had managed to survive only by drinking rainwater.

Glauco and Gleison were taken to a local hospital in Manicoré, but were taken by helicopter to a different hospital in Manaus on Thursday, Globo reported.

“When I saw my children, I was thrilled,” father Claudionor Ribeiro Ferreira told TV station Band Jornalismo.

In January of last year following a plane crash, pilot Antonio Sena spent 36 days in one of the most remote parts of the rainforest.

Brazilian pilot Antonio Sena speaks during an interview with AFP at his home in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 7, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

“Mayday, mayday, mayday… Papa, Tango, India, Romeo, Juliet is falling between Alenquer and the California track,” was the last message heard from the pilot before the crash before beginning his month-long trek.

He was eventually discovered by a group of people picking chestnuts.

Amazônia Real reported that in 2008, an indigenous 18-year-old man died shortly after he was found after he had been lost for 50 days. He got lost in a remote area of the rainforest while hunting.