Crash girl alive after 10 days

Ruby apparently survived on dried noodles and energy drinks

Rescuers in California have found a five-year-old girl near the wreckage of a car which crashed 10 days earlier.

Ruby Bustamante was apparently unhurt when her mother's car rolled off the road and into a ravine.

Norma Bustamante died of her injuries while Ruby is said to have survived on dried noodles and energy drinks.

She was found when workers repairing a barrier spotted the car in a desert canyon near Riverside, about 90 miles (145 km) east of Los Angeles.

Rescue Ralph Merino said: "She was right next to her mother and her mother was dead.

"She put her arms out for me. She was glad to see someone. She was hungry, thirsty and weak."

The angels kept her alive - what else can you say? Cathy Cooney Ruby's aunt

Fellow rescuer Gerry Magnuson said: "Ruby didn't say much beyond, 'I want some water'.

"It's a miracle she survived. She's a brave soul."

Norma's great grandfather, Bill Cooney, has criticised California's highway police for not searching for Ruby and her mother.

They were first reported missing on 4 April.

Ruby has said her mother was still alive for a few days after the crash, Mr Cooney told television reporters.

Ruby's relatives met her at a hospital, where her condition was said to be stable.

Her aunt Cathy Cooney said: "The angels kept her alive - what else can you say?"