Rescued German backpacker details Australia bush ordeal
They found her abandoned van stuck in dense bushland north of the town of Beacon, with plastic orange traction boards placed beneath the rear wheels.
"Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food, and clothing there," Wilga said Monday in a statement issued through Western Australia Police.
"The answer is: I lost control of the car and rolled down a slope.
"In the crash, I hit my head significantly. As a result of the accident, I left my car in a state of confusion and got lost."
Wilga thanked those who had helped to track her down.
"The thought of all the people who believed in me, searched for me, and kept hoping for me gave me the strength to carry on during my darkest moments," she said.
"For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Hungry, thirsty and covered in insect bites, Wilga was airlifted to a Perth hospital for treatment after she was found on Friday.
The backpacker had lost hope of being rescued, police said.
"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," Western Australia police said last week.
"She sought shelter at night where possible, including in a cave."
Wilga was suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, sunburn, "extensive insect bites", and an injured foot, police said.
The driver who spotted her, Tania Henley, told public broadcaster ABC that she saw Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road.
She appeared to be in a "fragile state", bitten by midges and suffering from the cold.
"Everything in this bush is very prickly. I just can't believe that she survived. She had no shoes on, she'd wrapped her foot up," Henley said.
Until her rescue, she had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in Beacon.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
18 hours ago
- France 24
Wallabies' Tizzano absent from third Lions Test after online abuse
Tizzano was swept up by controversy in the final minutes of the second Test in Melbourne when he was cleaned out of the last ruck of the game with a hit to the neck by the Lions' Jac Morgan. The Welshman's actions went unpunished by the officials, to Australia's fury, and Hugo Keenan's resulting 79th minute match-winning try was allowed to stand. In the aftermath, Tizzano was accused of "diving" to try and win a penalty when he sprung backwards and fell to the ground in dramatic fashion. Former Lions skipper Sam Warburton said the Australian "made a real meal of it". "He's had a really tough week, Carlo. He's copped a lot of online abuse," Schmidt told reporters late Thursday. "I've advised Carlo to stay away from the media full stop, and the opinions that are out there." When asked about the issue, Lions coach Andy Farrell said: "Online abuse, it's clear and obvious, it's disgusting. It shouldn't be that way." Schmidt defended the way Tizzano came out of the ruck, saying it was a matter of physics. "There were just over 54 Gs of force that went directly through the neck ... which is enough to cause serious injury, although not to a rugby player who is as well conditioned as Carlo. "But he's probably best just left to take a deep breath. "We are all aware of Newton's third law -- for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction," Schmidt added. "When that force hits him and the speed of his head collapsing down, he recoiled out the back of the ruck. "I don't think he wanted to recoil like that but that's the nature of force. That there is an equal and opposite reaction." World Rugby this week defended the officials' decision-making during the Test and took issue with Schmidt questioning the governing body's commitment to player safety. The third and final Test is in Sydney on Saturday, with the Lions gunning for a whitewash after winning the first two.
France 24
4 days ago
- France 24
Five dead including gunman in New York office shooting spree
A fifth victim was also in critical condition after being shot, while the gunman apparently took his own life, Mayor Eric Adams told a late-night briefing at a hospital near the scene of the shooting. The gunman was caught on camera exiting a black BMW carrying an M-4 rifle, then entering the building, immediately opening fire on a police officer before "spraying the lobby" with bullets, police commissioner Jessica Tisch told the press conference. He then took an elevator to the 33rd floor, of Rudin Management which owns the building, where the man continued his spree before apparently shooting himself. He was later discovered by officers next to his weapon. The office tower block at 345 Park Avenue is also home to hedge fund giant Blackstone, auditor KPMG and the National Football League. Tisch told the briefing that the suspect was believed to have acted alone but inquiries were ongoing, with the FBI assisting in the investigation. She identified the shooter as Shane Tamura of Las Vegas and said a revolver, ammunition and magazines were found in his vehicle along with medication bearing his name. The man had a history of mental health issues according to Las Vegas law enforcement -- but did appear to possess a valid firearms permit for Nevada, Tisch said. He drove cross-country from the southwestern state in recent days and arrived in New York on Monday, she said. The incident began around 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) when reports of gunfire prompted hundreds of police to swarm a busy office district on the storied Park Avenue, an area popular with tourists and visiting businesspeople. A worker from a nearby office building wept as she left the area after a local lockdown was lifted, while another described a gunman going floor to floor as staff prepared to leave for the day. Adams said the fallen police officer, an immigrant from Bangladesh who was 36 years old, was among the dead. Two other males and a female died, and another man remained in a critical condition, officials said without giving any preliminary motive for the shootings. Rush hour Office worker Shad Sakib told AFP that he was packing his things to leave work when a public address announcement warned him and his colleagues to shelter in place. "Everyone was confused with like, 'wait, what's going on?' And then someone finally realized that it's online, that someone walked in with a machine gun," said the witness who wore a grey suit jacket. "He walked right into a building right next door. We saw the photo of him walking through the same area that I walked through to get lunch here. "You would think it won't happen to you, and then it does." Mass shootings are common in the United States, where a constitutional right to bear arms outweighs demands for stricter rules. There have been 254 mass shootings in the United States this year including Monday's incident in New York, according to the Gun Violence Archive -- which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot. Police officers deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush-hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests. The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters. The United Nations headquarters is nearby. The frontrunner in the race for mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X that he was "heartbroken to learn of the horrific shooting in midtown and I am holding the victims, their families, and the NYPD officer... in my thoughts."
France 24
4 days ago
- France 24
Gunman dead in New York after Midtown shooting: police
Mayor Eric Adams said on X the officer had been "struck down" and expressed his "deepest sympathies" to the family of the officer, although a department spokeswoman said she could neither confirm nor deny an officer had been killed. Police wrote on X that the scene, around Park Avenue and East 51st Street, had been "contained and the lone shooter is dead," without providing details about the identity of the suspect. "At this time, the scene has been contained and the lone shooter has been neutralized," police commissioner Jessica Tisch wrote on X amid reports of several people being shot. She gave no other details about the incident. Fox News, citing the New York Police Department, reported that at least six people including a police officer were shot, with the officer in a critical condition in an area hospital. Police officers deployed a drone near Park Avenue at the height of the evening rush-hour as dozens of officers swarmed the area, some carrying long guns and others wearing ballistic vests. A number of ambulances had gathered in the vicinity and several helicopters hovered above the scene. Police repeatedly pushed back journalists and members of the public who gathered to see what was happening in the normally calm but busy area of Midtown Manhattan. The area is home to several five-star business hotels, as well as a number of corporate headquarters, including Colgate Palmolive and KPMG, the auditor. Earlier the mayor had told New Yorkers that "there is an active shooter investigation taking place in Midtown right now. Please take proper safety precautions if you are in vicinity and do not go outside if you are near Park Avenue and East 51st Street." © 2025 AFP
