Joohee Han, 25, lived on running water after she fell while climbing south of Cairns

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A Korean tourist who went missing for a week in far north Queensland survived for six days by crawling through a ravine and finding running water from a nearby rockface.

Joohee Han, 25, disappeared last Friday while climbing Mount Tyson in Tully, south of Cairns. She lost her footing near the Scout Rock lookout and fell into dense bushland, knocking herself unconscious for over five hours.

Paramedic Hannah Gaulke told AAP Han survived by “crawling and scraping” her way through tough terrain until she found a “slippery, rocky waterfall” with running water.

Han stayed there for days until emergency crews rescued her on Thursday afternoon, using a helicopter and 60-foot (18m) winch to pull her from the ravine.

“In the entire time she was missing she’d had no food with her at all,” Gaulke said.



A Scottish tourist who was staying at the same hostel as Han described it as a “miracle”.

“I’ve climbed that thing three times, two in a group and one myself, and after I did it myself I said I would never be going up again,” Craig Strathie told the ABC. “Heck, I’m Scottish — we’ve got mountains all the time, but that thing can be pretty dangerous.”

The area’s Special Emergency Services coordinator, Eleanor Rosam, said it was “a very difficult” track that was not used frequently.

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A sign near the track warns visitors that the climb takes about three hours, can be dangerous in wet weather and “any person undertaking it [does] so at their own risk”.

On Friday Han was recuperating in Tully hospital, where she was treated for dehydration and minor scratches. Gaulke said she had “no significant injuries” and was in good spirits.

Insp Steve Kersley from Queensland police said Han had “done well to survive” the ordeal. “Six days is a long time to be lost in the bush,” he said.

