Woman survives three days in Delta Park

Natasha Wong (42) suffered hypothermia and frostbite after she went missing in the Delta Park in July.

According to the Netcare website Wong went to take the security guard some groceries on 31 July, as she lived close by. The website stated that Wong only saw her husband and son when they were reunited at Netcare Milpark Hospital on 2 August, after a traumatic ordeal, where she narrowly avoided having her feet amputated.

The incident happened when Wong was walking near the stream that runs through Delta Park, when she noticed her shoelace had come loose. She bent down to tie her shoelace and that was when her cellphone fell into the stream. As she bent over to reach for her phone she hit her head and fell into the stream. “I just remember slipping, that feeling of falling backwards, then I must have knocked my head and the next thing I remember was waking up with the sun going down and the birds singing loudly. I worked out it must have been about 10 hours later,” she said.

She managed to drag herself half onto the bank, but from her hips down Natasha remained in the icy water. “I was shivering and shaking, but I honestly don’t remember much of the Friday night,” she added. Wong apparently remained stuck in the stream for three days and said that she was slipping in and out of consciousness, but fought to stay awake. In the meantime her worried husband went to the Linden Police Station and opened a missing persons case.

Wong was rescued by a man who was walking by and heard her cries for help. “Late on Sunday, I heard children’s voices close by, I don’t know how I found the strength, but I started screaming ‘help me, help me’,” she explained.

“I heard a man’s voice calling, ‘Where are you?’ and I shouted back ‘I’m in the reeds, I’m in the reeds’, and I don’t remember much else until I regained consciousness at the Netcare Milpark Hospital,” she pointed out. The man promptly phoned Netcare 911, and when the paramedics arrived they cut a fence and used a 4×4 to get near to where Natasha was.

“When you have an experience like this it makes you appreciate life, it is a real wake up call. I want to thank the Netcare 911 paramedics who rescued me, and the doctors and staff of both Netcare Milpark and Netcare Rehabilitation hospitals, who were amazing,” she concluded.

Delta Park Environmental Centre resident manager Geoff Lockwood confirmed the incident, but did not know who saved Wong.

Details: Netcare Milpark Hospital 011 480 5600.