Man found dead just minutes from safety after walking 50km through Australian outback

The man, who is not being named, was forced to seek help after his car broke down in remote Goldfields region of Southern Australia

A view of the outback in central Australia, seen from the 'Ghan Express' (Rex Images)

A 60-year-old man who walked 50 kilometres through the baking Australian outback after his car broke down died just minutes away from help.

The Lenora man, who is not being named, walked 48km after his car broke down in the remote northern Goldfields, in the south eastern corner of Western Australia.

His body was discovered only minutes from Windidda Station, less than two kilometres from safety.

The man had been travelling with his wife and their three dogs and cat when their car broke down on Sunday evening.

After camping overnight, he set out at 5am the following morning with a “small container of water”, according to Western Australian police.

The woman, who is also not being named, stayed with the car and animals and was found by cattle farmers from Wongawol Station on Wednesday.

The group took the woman to Windidda Station and a search party later discovered her husband’s body.

Although personally unharmed, one of the woman’s dogs and her cat died.

Temperatures in the remote region have hovered around 45C in the past week. There are few areas of habitation in the vast stretch of land, mainly used by cattle farmers, and drivers are advised to always travel with three days food and water.