3-year-old survives 3-day Australia outback ordeal

An Australian mother yesterday said she felt "blessed" after her three-year-old son with autism was found alive and sound, scooping muddy water from a creek in dense outback terrain after a three-day hunt that gripped the country.

Police sent a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment but failed to spot the little boy in the hours after he was first reported missing on Friday morning at his family's remote property in the eastern state of New South Wales, 150 kilometres (90 miles) northwest of Sydney.

Rescue workers and police, including some on horseback, searched through the weekend before finally spotting the boy, AJ Elfalak, during a helicopter sweep of the area on Monday.

AJ had a few scratches and bruises, the mother said. "Other than that he is perfect."

Police said dense terrain complicated the search for the boy, who was spotted within a few hundred metres (yards) of his home.

"The young fellow was sitting in a small creek and was drinking water. He was able to catch the eye of the pilot and the crewman," New South Wales Police superintendent Brad Monk told reporters after the rescue on Monday.

Video images taken from the police helicopter showed the child sitting in a pool of murky water in a rocky creek, wearing a light-coloured top and using his hands to scoop water to his mouth and face.

The hunt for the boy, who police said has autism and does not speak, grabbed the headlines across Australia.

"What a relief. I can't imagine how traumatic this experience has been for AJ and his parents," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a message on Twitter Monday.