AL JAZEERA: Bojaya massacre: After 17 years, victims' remains returned →

Bellavista, Colombia - The small white coffin could be held with two hands. Sitting atop a long, wooden canoe, the box floated down the murky waters of the Atrato river surrounded by dozens of other coffins - white for children, brown for adults.

Elaine Perea Chala was fixated on one. She first wailed, then held her clenched fist against her mouth in an attempt to control her emotions.

"We're bringing back our dead," women, dressed in white in a nearby canoe, sang in a piercing Afro-Colombian chant. Umbrellas peppered the air, shielding those present from the harsh midday sun.

Family members receive loved ones remains near the site of the Bojaya massacre. Photo: Steven Grattan