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Photo: DEAN LEWINS / AAP / IMAGO
The family's vehicle left the country road on Christmas Day, rolled over and landed on the roof: In Australia, three small children survived for more than two days after an accident in the hot outback.
The parents of the one, two and five-year-old siblings died in the accident.
The drama made headlines across the country.
A 9News reporter spoke of "three small miracles" given the harsh conditions in the Australian wilderness.
From the road, the wreck was barely visible behind dense undergrowth, as reported by 9News.
The children had to endure around 55 hours in the outback at temperatures of more than 30 degrees.
It was only then that they were spotted by a relative who was looking for the family, ABC.net also reported.
The five-year-old girl reportedly saved her one-year-old brother by unbuckling his seat belt.
For the 25 and 28-year-old parents, however, any help came too late.
Friends and family members called for donations
The children were taken to hospital severely dehydrated.
How they were able to survive in the face of the enormous heat was initially just as unclear as the cause of the accident.
A relative said: "No one knows what they went through."
Friends and family members are now calling for donations for the children.
More than $105,000 has already been raised.
The accident happened near the place Kondinin, where the family lived.
The municipality is located about 250 kilometers east of Perth, the capital of the state of Western Australia.
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