A woman has told of her family’s “scary” ordeal, after they spent three days stranded in the hostile South Australian outback.
Bridge Doolan, her partner, and two children aged 21 and 6, were rescued by a helicopter on a remote stretch of Mount Dare Road near the Northern Territory border this morning.
“It was scary, but we kept praying knowing that god would answer our prayers, which he did and sent out help,” Doolan said.
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The family’s car became bogged in floodwaters on a remote stretch of Mount Dare Road while they were travelling from Oodnadatta to their home in Finke on Friday.
Doolan said for two nights they camped in their car, before they decided to start walking on the third day.
“They had vehicle troubles, and decided to walk from the vehicles – something we don’t encourage people to do,” Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said.
“It makes it that much more difficult for searches to find people if they are in this sort of situation.”
On Sunday, the family was spotted by a rescue plane, with vision showing one of them waving frantically to the crew above.
With no immediate rescue possible due to the extent of the outback flooding, the search team parachuted down food and a satellite phone to the stranded family.
They spent another night in the harsh elements before a helicopter was finally able to rescue them on Monday morning.
The family is now recovering in Coober Pedy and thanked the emergency services for their efforts in getting them back to safety unharmed.
This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.
