After a car accident killed their parents and left the three young children stranded in the wreckage for more than two days in a remote area of rural Western Australia, a 5-year-old girl saved her baby brother’s life, according to Nine News.
The family’s Land Rover Discovery was discovered Tuesday morning in Kondinin, which is located approximately 280 kilometers (174 miles) east of the state’s capital Perth, according to a statement from Western Australia Police.
Police reported that parents Cindy Braddock, 25, and Jake Day, 28, were pronounced deceased at the scene.
Their three children did not perish in the collision, but they were locked in the car for hours in sweltering heat until a worried relative found them.
The girl and her two boys, who are 2 and 1, were among the five members of the family who were reported missing a day earlier when they failed to show up for a Christmas Day celebration, according to Nine News.
Michael Read, a relative, told Nine News that the 5-year-old girl freed her smallest brother from his kid seat and so saved his life.
The 1-year-old wouldn’t be with us today, according to Read, if the 5-year-old hadn’t undone the car seat’s buckle. She won’t likely find out for a few years.
High temperatures, according to Read, made their experience worse.
According to him, they spent the majority of the 55 hours trapped in the car in 30-degree (Celsius, or 86-degree Fahrenheit) heat, according to Nine News. Nobody is aware of what they endured.
According to investigators, the kids had significant dehydration when they were rushed to the hospital.
According to Nine News, they managed to survive with non-life-threatening wounds and will likely be released from the hospital in the next few days.
