Five people survived 36 hours perched on top of a crashed plane in the middle of an alligator-infested swamp in the Amazon.

The small plane was discovered by fishermen in Bolivia’s Amazonas region on Friday, 48 hours after it went missing.

The plane had been forced to make an emergency landing, leaving all on board – three women, a child and a 29-year-old pilot – stranded.

The group is said to be in “excellent condition”, according to Wilson Avila, director of the emergency operations centre in Bolivia’s Beni region.

Andres Velarde, the pilot, said that engine failure had prompted an emergency landing near the Itanomas River. The plane quickly began to lose altitude, forcing Mr. Velarde to land the craft in a swamp at the edge of a lagoon.

The group then crowded on top of the plane’s roof and were “surrounded by alligators that came within three metres” of them.

Mr. Velarde added that he suspected that the fuel leaking from the plane kept the predators at bay.

The group also spotted an anaconda in the water, he said.

While awaiting rescue, they ate local cassava flour that one of the passengers had brought with them.

“We couldn’t drink water and we couldn’t go anywhere else because of the alligators,” Mr. Velarde said.

The Cessna 172CP plane, flying from the town of Baures to the north-central city of Trinidad, 112 miles away, went missing just one hour after taking off, prompting a joint search between the Ministry of Defence and the Bolivian Air Force (FAB).

The FAB conducted two flights over the estimated crash site, searching for more than six hours.

An EC-145 helicopter, equipped with a crane and tracking systems, was sent to the crash site to rescue the stranded group.

People frequently use air taxis in the Beni area, due to the lack of paved roads and the poor maintenance of those that do exist.

Ruben Torres, director of the Beni region health department, said, “there was a lot of speculation about the case”, and “many theories” after the plane seemingly vanished.

“I am truly pleased because, in the end, all the institutions collaborated effectively to locate the missing individuals and save those lives,” he told Reuters. (The Telegraph UK)