Florida gran survives swamp ordeal

Doctors in Florida are treating an 83-year-old woman for severe dehydration after she spent three days trapped in blistering heat inside the wreck of her car in swampland north of Miami.

Rescue teams were winched down to cut Mrs Tooter free

Tillie Tooter had been on her way to pick up her granddaughter from the airport when her car careered off a bridge and somersaulted about 40 feet (12 metres) into snake-infested mangroves.

She was found tethered by a seat belt in her upside-down car by a passer-by who heard her cries for help and alerted the emergency services.

Mrs Tooter told rescuers she had stayed alive by collecting rainwater in a plastic bag.

Mrs Tooter is expected to make a full recovery

Firefighters had to cut away the trees supporting her car and remove the roof of the vehicle.

"This is a swamp filled with snakes, bugs and probably an alligator or two," said Fire-Rescue Division Chief Stephen McInerny. He added that if the car had not been caught by the trees - which suspended it just a foot above the water - she would have drowned.

Relief

Mrs Tooter is now in a Fort Lauderdale hospital where doctors describe her condition as stable.

This is a swamp filled with snakes, bugs and probably an alligator or two

Fire Chief Stephen McInerny

They say that but for her seatbelt she would probably have been killed in the crash.

Although she is covered with bruises and insect bites, she is expected to make a full recovery.

"It's such a relief, we're so glad they found her," Mrs Tooter's granddaughter, Lori Simms, said. "I'm just so thankful and relieved she's alive."

Ms Simms and other family members had spent the previous three days issuing appeals to the public to help find the missing grandmother.