A YOUNG woman who was found clinging to a narrow ledge after lasting FIVE days alone in the Aussie jungle has credited her survival to Bear Grylls’s TV shows.
Yang Chen, 26, from China, used her knowledge of bushcraft programmes to feed and hydrate herself in the unforgiving wilderness.
The student became separated from her experienced hiking partner on Wednesday last week while climbing over boulders in the rainforests of the Gold Coast south of Brisbane.
Yang, who attends a university in Queensland, tried walking back to the car park but panicked when the track she was following ended.
Authorities feared she had died in the rugged conditions made worse by searing 31C heat and recent flooding.
Rescuers began searching for a body believing the inexperienced hiker must have drowned in the waterways swollen by the floods.
However, Yang survived using techniques she has learned from television shows such as Born Survivor: Bear Grylls and was found alive 300 metres from where she was last seen.
She was spotted by a helicopter after climbing 30 metres onto a narrow ledge above a waterfall.
The Chinese-born student says she slept in caves for five nights and snacked on wild berries.
She also filled a plastic bottle from a fresh water stream – something experts believe kept her alive.
However, a 9News reporter has said that sources in the rescue team are sceptical of Yang’s story.
They say the 26-year-old was in remarkable condition for someone who was missing in the wilderness for five days.
In fact, the student was found near a plantation – however she claims she had lost her mobile phone and was unaware that she was close to safety.
Mitch Gray, senior sergeant from Queensland water police, said if Yang had not been near a water supply she would have surely perished in the harsh wilderness.
He told the Gold Coast Bulletin: “If she hadn’t stayed near a water supply I’m fairly confident on Sunday she wouldn’t have been alive, or at least in the condition we found her.
“She mentioned she’d watched the wildlife survival TV shows and thought to apply some of that stuff.”
Speaking about the rescue from the narrow ledge, he said: “She was asked to sit still while a police rescue team scaled a dangerous rock face to reach her.
“Our guys were very nervous. She was on the edge of a cliff, so she looked very unsteady on her feet.”
According to Tim Brailsford, vice-chancellor of Bond University, the 26-year-old phoned her parents to inform them she was still alive.
He said: “Yang and I phoned her parents in China who were ecstatic with the news, and overwhelmed with gratitude.”
