After eleven nights in the harsh environment of Western Australia's outback, 26-year-old Carolina Wilga from Germany is found and rescued, having relied on rainwater and limited food supplies to survive.
German Backpacker Rescued After Eleven Days Lost in the Australian Outback
German Backpacker Rescued After Eleven Days Lost in the Australian Outback
A harrowing ordeal concludes as Carolina Wilga survives against the odds in the Australian wilderness.
A 26-year-old German backpacker, Carolina Wilga, was found alive after being lost for eleven nights in the unforgiving Australian outback. The Western Australia Police reported that Wilga endured severe exhaustion, dehydration, extensive insect bites, and a foot injury throughout her ordeal. After her van became immobilized in a remote bushland, she became disoriented and walked approximately 24 kilometers (15 miles) away from her vehicle.
Despite her desperate situation, Wilga astonishingly relied on her minimal food supplies and water from puddles and rain to sustain herself. Police recounted that she had convinced herself that rescue would not come, adding to the family's relief upon her recovery. Acting police inspector Jessica Securo described the rescue as an outcome of "sheer luck" when Wilga was spotted by a passing motorist, Tania Henley, who noticed her waving for help.
Henley remarked on Wilga's dire state, indicating that she had no shoes and had wrapped her injured foot in makeshift bandages. Before her rescue, the last confirmed sighting of Wilga was at a general store in Beacon, Western Australia, on June 29. Initially reported missing, her abandoned vehicle was later discovered in dense bushland by police, leading to an extensive search.
Wilga is now recovering in a hospital in Perth, where she reportedly had a restful night and is taking her recovery "one day at a time."
