Belgian woman survives heat wave ordeal trapped in a car

Corine Bastide ran off the road into woods last week near the southeast city of Liege. It was only when relatives were putting up missing posters this week that they spotted the vehicle.

A Belgian woman who spent six days trapped in her overturned car during one of the country’s hottest periods on record says thoughts of her children helped her to focus on staying alive.

Temperatures in Belgium rose to over 40 C (104 F) last week, but Bastide survived on rain water she collected during a weekend storm. (AP Photo)

Corine Bastide ran off the road into woods last week near the southeast city of Liege. It was only when relatives were putting up missing posters this week that they spotted the vehicle.

Bastide, aged 46, told state broadcaster RTBF on Wednesday that during the first night entombed in her car her cellphone rang constantly as her family searched desperately for her but she was in such pain she couldn’t reach it.

Temperatures in Belgium rose to over 40 C (104 F) last week, but Bastide survived on rain water she collected during a weekend storm.