The fate of four children who went missing after a plane crash in southern Colombia remained unknown, after President Gustavo Petro deleted a Tweet claiming they had been discovered alive, adding in a new message that reports of their discovery were unconfirmed and the search was still ongoing. The children have been missing since May 1, when their plane crashed in dense jungle. Petro said in the now-deleted Twitter message that the children, aged 13, 9 and 4, as well as an 11-month-old baby, had been found alive thanks to arduous searching by members of the armed forces. "I have decided to delete the tweet because it hasn't been possible to confirm the information provided by the (child welfare agency)," he said, adding that searches were ongoing. "I'm sorry it happened," he said. "At this time there's no other priority other than moving forward with the search until you find them. The children's lives are the most important." The plane – a Cessna 206 - was carrying seven people on a route between Araracuara, in Amazonas province, and San Jose del Guaviare, a city in Guaviare province, when it issued a mayday alert due to engine failure in the early hours of May 1. Three adults, including the pilot, died as a result of the crash and their bodies were found inside the plane.