It's good news.

An Australian mother on Tuesday expressed relief after her three-year-old autistic son was found alive, hand-drawing muddy water from a river in the Outback, after three days of searching that kept the country in check. breath.

The young boy was reported missing on Friday morning in the remote family property in the state of New South Wales (East), 150 km northwest of Sydney.

A police helicopter, equipped with a thermal imager, initially failed to locate him.

Rescuers and police, some on horseback, searched the area throughout the weekend before a helicopter finally sighted young AJ Elfalak on Monday.

Thank goodness.

What a relief.

I can't imagine how traumatic this experience has been for AJ and his parents.

Glad to hear he's safe.

Thanks to all at @nswpolice and our paramedics.

https://t.co/pIL91J27Cc

- Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) September 6, 2021

"I want to thank everyone, I'm so lucky"

“He's with us. He's safe, he's fine, and he's healthy. That's all that matters, ”said her mother Kelly Elfalak, interviewed by television journalists from her home in the village of Putty. “I want to thank everyone, I'm so lucky,” she added. AJ has a few abrasions and bruises, according to his mother, but "other than that he's doing perfectly fine." The dense vegetation complicated the search, police said, adding that the boy was found a few hundred meters from his home.

“The little guy was sitting in a little river and he was drinking water. He managed to get the attention of the pilot and his crew, ”said NSW Police Commissioner Brad Monk. Footage from the police helicopter shows the child sitting in the muddy water of a river, wearing a clear T-shirt and watering his mouth and face with his hands. The boy found his parents smiling again, said New South Wales ambulance service manager Gerry Pyke.

"All he wanted was to eat and he gobbled up almost three slices of pizza and a banana, so he's doing pretty well."

The research for the boy, who has autism and cannot speak according to police, has made headlines in Australia.

" What a relief.

I can not imagine the trauma caused by this experience for AJ and his parents ”, reacted the Prime Minister Scott Morrison Monday on Twitter.

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  • Australia

  • Autism

  • Disappearance

  • Police