Man dies of thirst in Australian Outback

SYDNEY (AFP) - A 25-year-old man died and another was recovering in hospital on Wednesday after they became stranded in the harsh Australian Outback, prompting warnings about the risks of the desert.

The pair had been on a routine morning check of a spring near Ethabuka cattle station, near the Simpson Desert in southeast Queensland state, on Monday when their four-wheel-drive vehicle became bogged on a sand dune.

As temperatures soared to 45 degrees Celsius and they failed to free the vehicle, the men attempted to walk the 16km back.

Mr Mauritz 'Mo' Pieterse, 25, collapsed several kilometres from the station, while his 30-year-old colleague was reportedly found in a distressed state, suffering from extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion.