US teen hikes for two days after surviving plane crash

A US teenager who survived a plane crash in the forested mountains of Washington state before walking for two days to reach safety is doing remarkably well, her father has said.

Autumn Veatch (16) was dehydrated and suffering from a type of treatable muscle tissue breakdown caused by vigorous exercise without food and water, but suffered no life-threatening injuries during the ordeal.

The fate of her two step-grandparents, Leland and Sharon Bowman, who were also on board the small plane, remains unclear and a search for wreckage is continuing.

David Veatch, of Bellingham, Washington, told reporters outside a hospital in Brewster his daughter is exhausted but was able to joke with him about how they had watched survival shows together.

He called her “just an amazing kid”.

The girl is understood to have walked to a trail head, where she was picked up by a motorist and brought to Mazama, Washington.

Three Rivers Hospital chief Scott Graham said the teenager will stay overnight.

The Beech A-35 aircraft left Kalispell, Montana, on Saturday afternoon, headed for Lynden, Washington, before crashing.

AP