Australian police say it’s a “miracle” a pair survived for several days without water after they became lost in the Northern Territory outback.
Mahesh Patrick, 14, and Shaun Emitja, 21, were found separately near Alice Springs on Friday and Saturday.
Both were dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion but were otherwise fine, police said.
Their vehicle had become bogged last Monday while on a four-hour drive through a remote area.
Unable to pull the car out, they stayed with the vehicle overnight before leaving the next morning to search for water.
They walked 5km (3.1 miles) to a hill before realising they were going the wrong way, authorities said.
“They thought they were going in a direction that would [take] them adjacent to the Sandover Highway,” said Northern Territory police, referencing the single main road that travels north-south through the region.
They were reported missing after failing to return that day to Hermannsburg, an Aboriginal community 120km (75 miles) south-west of Alice Springs.
