A 26-year-old German backpacker, Carolina Wilga, has been rescued after surviving nearly two harrowing weeks lost in the rugged outback of Western Australia.
Authorities revealed she endured extreme conditions by drinking from rainwater puddles and taking shelter in a cave.
Police said Ms Wilga had set off on foot, covering around 24km (15 miles), after her van became immobilized in thick bushland.
Disoriented and confused, she wandered far from the vehicle before becoming stranded.
Her ordeal lasted 11 nights, during which she battled exhaustion, dehydration, a foot injury, and “extensive insect bites,” according to police. Despite limited food supplies, she managed to stay alive in the unforgiving wilderness.
“She spent 11 nights exposed to the elements and survived by consuming the minimal food supplies she had in her possession, and drinking water from rain and puddles,” a statement from Western Australia Police confirmed.
The dramatic rescue came by chance when a passing motorist spotted the backpacker waving for help near the roadside on Friday.
Acting Police Inspector Jessica Securo credited the rescue to “sheer luck,” adding that Wilga had already resigned herself to not being found. “She had a good night’s sleep in hospital and is just taking it one day at a time,” Securo noted.
Tania Henley, the driver who spotted her, described the moment she found Wilga to ABC, saying the young woman looked “fragile” and was barefoot, with her injured foot wrapped up. “Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can’t believe that she survived,” Henley remarked.
Ms Wilga was last seen at a general store in the small town of Beacon on 29 June. Her van was discovered bogged in dense bushland north of the town a day before she was found.
Police believe she had lost control of the vehicle before it became mechanically unfit to continue.
Her family, officers said, is immensely relieved and grateful for her safe return.
