German backpacker found alive after 12 days missing in Australian outback
Carolina Wilga, who vanished on June 29 from near the outback town of Beacon, about 254 km (157 miles) north of Western Australia's state capital Perth, was found by a passing motorist on a road in the region on Friday, police said.
'This is a huge relief for her family and all of her loved ones,' Detective Jessica Securo said on Saturday in a media conference televised from Perth.
'To find Carolina safe and well is a fantastic result.'
Wilga was airlifted to a Perth hospital, where she was stable on Saturday, authorities said.
The backpacker was 'ravaged by mosquitoes' during her time stranded in the hostile terrain and was found exhausted, dehydrated, and with cuts and bruises, police said.
A large-scale search was initiated for Wilga after her vehicle was found abandoned in the state's sparsely populated Wheatbelt region, which spans 154,862 square kilometers.
Wilga planned to continue her travels in Australia once recovered, authorities said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
11 hours ago
- Arab News
Chinese woman becomes third person charged under Australia's foreign interference laws
MELBOURNE: A Chinese citizen was charged Monday under Australia's recent foreign interference laws with covertly collecting information about an Australian Buddhist association, police said. The woman, an Australian permanent resident based in the capital Canberra, is only the third person charged since the laws were passed in 2018 and the first to be accused of interferring with the general population, Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt police said. She was charged in a Canberra court with covertly gathering information about a local branch of the Buddhist association Guan Yin Citta on behalf of the Public Security Bureau of China. The association is banned in China. Police have not detailed her alleged objectives. 'We allege the activity was to support intelligence objectives of the China's Public Security Bureau. This is the first time the AFP has charged a person with foreign interference that allegedly involves targeting members of the Australian community,' Nutt told reporters. 'Foreign interference is a serious crime that undermines democracy and social cohesion. It is a crime carried out by or on behalf of a foreign principal that involves covert and deceptive conduct or threats of serious harm or menacing demands,' Nutt added. The woman, who was arrested at her home Saturday, cannot be named publicly due to a court order. She was remanded in custody and faces a maximum 15 years in prison if convicted. The Chinese Embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond on Monday to a request for comment. She is the first foreign national to be charged under the sweeping laws that created a rift between Australia and China when they were first announced in 2017. Vietnam-born Melbourne businessman and local community leader Di Sanh Duong was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison last year over an attempt to influence a former federal government minister on behalf of China. Sydney businessman Alexander Csergo also was charged with foreign interference for allegedly accepting payments for information from two suspected Chinese spies. He pleaded not guilty to the charge. Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, said the nation's main domestic spy agency had made a signficant contribution to the latest arrest. 'Foreign interference of the kind alleged is an appalling assault on Australian values, freedoms and sovereignty,' Burgess said in a statement. The charge comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mends bilateral relations with China that plumbed new lows under the previous Australian administration over issues including foreign interference laws. Albanese traveled to Beijing last month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the fouth time since the Australian leader was first elected in 2022.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
At least 27 migrants dead in shipwreck off Yemen: Security sources
At least 27 migrants are dead and more than 100 missing following a sinking off the coast of Yemen, two security sources in the southern province of Abyan told AFP on Sunday. 'At this stage, the deaths of 27 people are confirmed, their bodies have been recovered,' one security source said, adding that 'searches are ongoing.' A second source said '150 people were on board the vessel that sank,' also reporting 27 dead.
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Al Arabiya
Two missing after Mallorca stunt plane crash
Spanish emergency services on Sunday searched for two occupants of an acrobatic plane that went into the sea off the coast of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, the civil guard said. Witnesses on a boat in the area said they saw the plane go down on Saturday evening just off the port of Soller, after performing a series of acrobatics just off the island's north coast. One witness said the plane had taken off some two hours earlier to perform a stunt routine, according to local media. Rescue teams recovered some plane wreckage, but there was no immediate sign of the pilot and passenger.
