A backpacker who was rescued after surviving 12 days in the Australian outback has explained why she abandoned her vehicle.
Carolina Wilga, 26, was spotted along a remote bush track in Western Australia by a driver on Friday after last being seen on June 29th.
Today the German national, who was airlifted to hospital, spoke publicly for the first time since the ordeal, explaining how she came to leave her van.
‘Some people might wonder why I even left my car, even though I had water, food, and clothing there,’ she said in a statement posted by Western Australia Police on Instagram she said
‘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.’
In their own statement, police said Ms Wilga ‘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’.
Ms Wilga said she was ‘beyond grateful to have survived’.
She added: ‘First and foremost, I want to express a huge thank you from the bottom of my heart – a thank you that truly comes from the depth of my soul. For all the incredible supports during the search for me,’ she wrote.
‘Previously, I didn’t know where my place was in a culture on the other side of the world to my own, but now, I feel a part of it.
‘I am deeply impressed by the courage, helpfulness, and warmth that has been shown to me here. Western Australia has taught me what it really means to be part of a true community.
‘Here, humanity, solidarity, and care for one another are what truly matter – and in the end, that’s what counts most.’
She said she was certain she ‘survived only thanks to this incredible outpouring of support’.
‘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 wrote.
‘For this, I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Especially to the police investigators, searchers, the German Consulate, the medical staff and the wonderful nurses who took care of me with so much compassion.
She also thanked her ‘rescuer and angel’, Tania Henley, the driver who found Ms Wilga around 24 kilometres from where she left her vehicle.
Ms Henley told Australia’s public broadcaster ABC that she saw Ms Wilga waving her hands by the side of the road, and she appeared to be in a ‘fragile state’.
‘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,’ Ms Henley said.
Ms Wilga had last been seen at a general store in the town of Beacon, 200 miles from Perth.
Her abandoned car was found by police on Thursday in dense bushland north of Beacon.
Acting police inspector Jessica Securo said in a news conference Ms Wilga’s rescue was down to ‘sheer luck’.
She said the backpacker had had a ‘good night’s sleep’ in hospital and is ‘just taking it one day at a time’, Ms Securo said.
Jed Currey, owner of Perth-based Explore WA 4WD Adventures, said the incident should serve as a lesson for Australian authorities and tourists, reports news.com.au.
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‘I think we do need to be more proactive with people who travel to the country,’ Mr Currey said.
‘Europeans are very adventurous but they probably don’t understand our bespoke conditions here – population differences, the isolation factor, and the harshness of the country.’
Mr Currey said tourists should be given three simple tips on arrival: let someone know where you’re going to be, don’t leave your vehicle if you get into trouble, and have a means of contacting people.
