Bolivia - Five people crashed an airplane into the Amazon jungle on Wednesday - right into an alligator nest. Thanks to the lightning-quick pilot and a bit of luck, they survived almost unharmed.

As CNN reports, the small plane took off on Wednesday morning from the municipality of Baures in northern Bolivia and was heading for Trinidad.

However, an hour after take-off, the pilot reported technical problems and then lost contact with the plane.

Pablo Andrés Velarde was able to make an emergency landing with the plane and its four occupants, three women and a child, but the place where the plane came down was not exactly ideal.

"We fell into a swamp and there was an alligator nest right next to it," the 27-year-old told local media. Even though the group was directly at the mercy of the animals , they were not attacked by the alligators.

Velarde suspects that the spilled fuel from the plane had polluted the surrounding water and the animals were scared off by the acrid stench.

Meanwhile, the Bolivian Ministry of Defence organized a search operation for the victims. However, this was hampered by "adverse weather conditions" during the first 48 hours. Several planes flew over the stranded people without discovering them.

Thanks to the pilot's clever idea, they managed to stay afloat for two days with chocolate, which he had salvaged from the doomed plane.

The group was then discovered by fishermen on Friday morning. The Ministry of Defense rescued the five people with a rescue helicopter and finally flew them to Trinidad.