CANBERRA, Nov 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A family of four have been rescued after spending five days stranded in the Australian Outback.
The Zavros family were yesterday afternoon winched to safety, by a rescue helicopter and taken to hospital for precautionary checks.
Ori and Lindsey Zavros and their children, Zane and Zoe, were stranded in the Simpson Desert, in Outback South Australia (SA) since Friday, when their campervan became bogged because of torrential rain.
After arriving safely in Coober Pedy, a mining town 850 km north of Adelaide, Ori Zavros said, the family was “safe.”
“It’s been emotional, a bit of a rollercoaster but we got through it,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). “We were concerned that we might have got stuck there for a few weeks, worried about the heat.”
The family had been travelling Australia in their campervan when they became stuck on Friday. They immediately activated an emergency beacon, prompting authorities to spring into action.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) flight, found the bogged vehicle on Friday and dropped a satellite phone and supplies to the family.
However, severe weather and flooding in the area delayed rescue efforts.
The AMSA conducted a second supply drop on Sunday, as authorities waited for weather to abate.
Ori’s mother, Theo Zavros, yesterday morning said, everyone involved in the rescue effort had been “brilliant.”
“We are thrilled – thrilled to bits – that they are going to be finally rescued,” she told the ABC.
“We understand the three-year-old (Zoe) was a little bit sensitive to everything, so I can’t wait to speak to her – basically to speak to all of them.”
Police said the family’s van will remain in place.– NNN-AGENCIES
