24-04-2025
Couple drives into closed park and gets stuck 3 days in mud, Australia cops say
A bad choice to enter a closed national park turned dangerous for a young couple when they got stranded and waited three days to be found, according to police in northeast Australia.
The rescue happened Monday, April 21, at the vast Cape Melville National Park, when a helicopter spotted a pickup stuck in a large hole, the State of Queensland said in an April 24 news release.
The couple wisely stayed with the truck rather than striking out for help, Special Constable Adam Tickner said the release.
'It was fortunate that these people had enough food and water to last a few days, however this is very challenging terrain, especially during the wet season,' Tickner said.
'These roads are closed for a reason, and phone reception is limited.'
The 21-year-old man and 19-year-old woman suffered 'minor cuts and abrasions,' but were otherwise uninjured.
An investigation revealed they got stuck Friday, April 18, when their pickup 'became bogged' in what amounted to a gully cut through the road by fast flowing water. They tried using a winch to pull the truck out, but it broke, officials said.
Video shared on YouTube shows the couple survived by setting up a campsite in the road next to the truck, including a grill.
The identity of the couple was not released. They live in the Tablelands, about a 400-mile drive south from the park.
Cape Melville National Park covers about 600 square miles and is closed annually from December 1 to July 31, when 'the roads are impassable for extended periods,' officials said.
'This park is extremely remote and visitors must be well prepared and entirely self-sufficient. Be aware of estuarine crocodiles (be croc wise) and dangerous stinging jellyfish,' reports.
