Woman Survives Six Days in Australian Wilderness Despite Venomous Snake Bite

snowy mountains, australia - A woman managed to survive for at least six days in the Australian wilderness despite a venomous snake bite until rescue workers brought her to safety on Sunday afternoon. Her disappearance sparked a large-scale rescue effort in and around the Snowy Mountains area.

Lovisa Sjoberg, 48, was found with a sprained ankle and severely dehydrated. After receiving on-site care, she was taken to the hospital and is currently recovering in stable condition. The car rental company where she had hired a Mitsubishi Outlander raised the alarm when she missed the rental deadline on Monday, October 21. A witness had spotted her passing by in the 4x4 a week prior, and the last contact with Sjoberg was on October 8.

The Mitsubishi was eventually located in an abandoned village in the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. Sjoberg had frequented the region in recent years to photograph herds of wild horses.

An extensive rescue operation unfolded, with dozens of rescue workers searching on foot, horseback, and Jeep, aided by an airplane and helicopter equipped with infrared cameras. After days of searching with no results, the positive news of the woman being found alive emerged on Sunday afternoon at 4:50 pm local time.

It was discovered that she had been walking around for four days with a copperhead snake bite. The venomous snake is more shy than aggressive by nature, and a bite can be deadly without medical attention. "She is lucky to be alive," stated Chief Inspector Toby Lindsay. "It's fair to say she's had a tough time." The local temperature drops below freezing at night. How she managed to survive completely alone in the Australian wilderness for almost a week remains unclear.

Sjoberg, known as 'Kiki' to her friends, immigrated from Sweden to Australia over twenty years ago.