The female security worker who was mauled by a pack of dingoes at a mine in far-north Western Australia has spoken about her harrowing brush with death.
Debbie Rundle, 54, was working as a fly-in fly-out worker at the Telfer mine site last Wednesday when she was attacked and left for dead by the wild animals.
She was on her lunch break, eating an egg sandwich in a designated safe eating space, when a dingo came up and took her mobile phone off the table.
When Ms Rundle followed it, she saw another two dingoes, and was mauled by the trio.
FIFO worker Debbie Rundle (pictured) has spoken of how she screamed for help for ten minutes, as she fought of a pack of dingoes mauling her
She says that her co-workers saved her life, after she stayed upright for ten minutes while screaming for help
She has recounted to 7News how she screamed for help for ten minutes, managing to stay on her feet as the dingoes gnawed at her.
‘I looked down and thought oh my God, am I gonna die?’
She says that her co-workers saved her life.
‘I’m just so grateful they came to my rescue,’ she said from her hospital bed.
She is lucky that she didn’t collapse, as the dogs may have gone for her throat had she fallen, her family has said.
A security worker has received bites all over her body after being mauled by a pack of dingoes
Ms Rundle was eating her lunch when a dingo took her mobile phone. When she followed it, she was attacked by three dingoes
Photos show horrific bites to her arms and legs, and it has been reported that her entire body was covering in deep puncture marks, besides her neck and head.
One of the bite marks on her leg is so deep there are concerns that the foot may have to be amputated, though the plastic surgeon is confident he can save it.
The woman has already been operated on twice since arriving at the Royal Perth Hospital after the attack, but she will now need plastic surgery.
She will undergo micro-vascular reconstruction surgery on Wednesday.
Her surgeon will take skin, a vein and an artery from around her ribcage and then, under a microscope, attach it to a salvageable vein and artery in her ankle.
If all goes to plan, she could be back on her feet within days.
Deb says she is hoping to return to work eventually, saying she will ‘confront my fears again’.
Dingoes are apparently not uncommon to the area, with workers saying that they’re regularly seen prowling through work sites, looking for scraps of food.
Trials have been done in the Telfer township using dogs to try to warn off dingoes and prevent confrontations with people.
One of the bites on her leg is so deep there are concerns the foot may need to be amputated