Near the Swiss border 88-year-old survives four days alone in the forest
An 88-year-old woman has proven her survival skills in the northern Italian region of Lombardy. She survived four days alone in a forest after an accident.
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- An 88-year-old woman fell while picking mushrooms in Lombardy.
- She then had to survive four days and nights in the forest.
- To survive, she drank rainwater and sought shelter under trees at night.
An 88-year-old woman has survived four days and nights alone in a forest in Lombardy. The pensioner disappeared at the end of August in the Forcora Pass in the Varese region near the Swiss border. This was reported by the Italian media.
According to the report, Giuseppina Bardelli suffered an attack of vertigo and fell around seven meters down a slope while picking mushrooms. She then got lost in the dense vegetation.
Previously, mother and son had split up to extend their search radius and find more mushrooms. When Bardelli did not return to the agreed meeting point, her son alerted the police.
"I messed up"
During her time in the forest, the 88-year-old drank rainwater from puddles to survive. At night, she sought shelter under trees and covered herself with branches and bushes.
A fox kept her company. "My mother said to the animal, 'Don't hurt me, I'm fine, I'm calm'," her son is quoted as saying by the "Corriere della Sera" newspaper.
After four days, the search teams finally succeeded in rescuing the animal. Bardelli received medical treatment on site and was then taken to hospital. Despite broken ribs and dehydration, she was said to be in a stable condition.
According to media reports, her first words to her children were: "Ho fatto 'un disastro'" (in German: "I made a mess"). The survival artist has since recovered after a short stay in hospital and is already planning further hikes.