An Italian grandmother survived five days lost in the Alps by drinking rainwater and befriending a fox that had fallen into a ravine, it has emerged.
Giuseppina Bardelli, 89, disappeared on August 21 while looking for mushrooms in the mountains near her home in the village of Monterecchio in Italy’s Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca region, on the border with Switzerland.
Disoriented and dizzy, Giuseppina fell 20 feet (6 meters) into a ravine overgrown with ferns, breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung after becoming separated from her son Sergio while searching for food.
Sergio called the emergency services, who sent rescue teams, drones and helicopters. Four days later he managed to find the elderly woman in the forest near the Swiss border.
Her other son, Roberto, told the newspaper Corriere della Sera how his mother survived: ‘She drank rainwater that she found in puddles. At night she slept under trees, covering herself with vegetation.
‘The fox came up to her several times, sniffing out of curiosity. They became a kind of friends.’
Giuseppina Bardelli, 89, disappeared on August 21 while searching for mushrooms in the mountains near her home in the village of Monterecchio in Italy’s Maccagno con Pino e Veddasca region, on the border with Switzerland.
Sergio called emergency services who sent rescue teams, drones and helicopters and were able to locate the elderly woman in the forest near the Swiss border four days later
Disoriented and dizzy, Giuseppina fell 20 feet (6 meters) into a fern-covered gorge, breaking two ribs and puncturing a lung after she became separated from her son Sergio while searching for food.
He said that Giuseppina spoke to the fox and said, ‘Don’t do anything to me. I’m good, I’m calm.’
“And every night she would recite the rosary. She knew that every day could be her last,” Roberto added of his mother who survived in the forest.
He also said he burst into tears when his mother was found alive. “The joy was immense,” he added.
He said his mother, who was in hospital after being rescued from her 20-foot fall, is now doing “really well.”
“The slope was three times deeper. She could have seriously injured herself,” Roberto said. “It’s a miracle and that’s all. We cried our eyes out.”
Firefighter Silvio Rizzelli, who coordinated the search team, told local media: ‘She was hiding in a deep ravine, full of tall vegetation. She couldn’t see us and we couldn’t see her.
The breakthrough came Sunday morning, when rescuers considered abandoning the search.
“After finding her, my men reported that Mrs. Bardelli was tired, but completely lucid. It was wonderful news and surprising that someone her age could resist.”