Woman survives on wine for five days after getting stranded in Australian bush
8 May 2023, 20:25
A woman has survived for five days on sweets and wine after she became stranded in the remote Australian bush - despite being a nondrinker.
48-year-old Lillian Ip became stranded on Sunday as she travelled through the dense bush in the state of Victoria.
A short trip turned into a near death experience for Ms Ip after she drove down a dead end road, before her vehicle became stranded as she attempted a U-turn.
With only a bottle of wine in her car - a proposed present for the friend she was visiting - Ms Ip nursed the liquid over the five nights she was stranded.
The stranded driver was eventually discovered on Friday, May 5, after emergency services spotted her vehicle some 60km (37 miles) from the nearest town.
"The first thing coming in my mind, I was thinking 'water and a cigarette,'" Ms Ip told 9News Australia.
"Thank god the policewoman had a cigarette."
Read more: Nine shot and killed in shopping mall massacre with 'children among victims' at H&M in Texas
She added: "I thought I was going to die there. My whole body shut down on Friday," she said, adding that she "was about to give up".
With no water and only a handful of sweets in her car, Ms Ip was found to be in a serious condition when Victoria police located her from the air as part of an extensive search operation.
Ms Ip is believed to have stayed with her car due to health conditions which meant she was unable to walk long distances.
She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for dehydration and later released home to Melbourne.
