An n couple have returned home with an incredible tale of survival after they narrowly avoided death when their bus careened off a cliff in the Amazon.
Jason and Stephanie Rowe were left stranded in Peru after the bus drove over a precipice and flipped three times before coming to rest just short of the Amazon River’s edge on November 12.
The couple touched down at Brisbane Airport on Saturday afternoon with Ms Rowe bursting into tears saying she was extremely grateful to be back home and able to see her friends and family again.
The holidaymakers were on their dream trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary and were on a nine-hour journey back from the jungle to see the Amazon River when it is believed the driver had some sort of episode at the wheel.
The couple and others on board were seriously injured with Jason knocked out for half an hour and all 10 had to scramble up the steep jungle embankment to the road were they awaited rescue from passing motorists.
Remarkably, no one on-board lost their life in the terrifying accident.
Ms Rowe and other passengers had to climb up the steep embankment after the tour bus careened off the road and into thick amazon jungle
The couple touched down in Brisbane on Saturday afternoon with an incredible tale of survival
Authorities attend to seriously injured passengers on the road in Peru after the crash
The couple were then stranded in the South American country for nearly two weeks as Issues arose with their medical bills and travel insurance and they did not have the required visas to get a flight home that required a layover in Chile.
‘We almost can’t believe that we’re here like it’s been such an ordeal to get home. So we’re extremely relieved and happy,’ Ms Rowe told 9 News.
The couple said they were ‘extremely grateful’ for news coverage which helped them get a flight out of the country.
‘The n Embassy stepped up and we boarded the first flight out the next day.’
‘We like nearly died and we’re so grateful to be home and see the people that we love.’
Ms Rowe previously described the carnage of the crash when the bus first careened off the cliff.
‘I’m going, ‘We’re dead… this is how I die’,’ she said.
‘He (Mr Rowe) flew into the windscreen and got knocked out and he was out for about 25 minutes.
‘There’s people all over the ground, people had broken their arms, people were going into shock.’
Mr Rowe suffered serious injuries to his forehead, eyes and his arm while Ms Rowe injured her neck requiring a brace
The couple had travelled to Peru to celebrate their wedding anniversary but instead found themselves in a nightmare
The survivors were eventually rescued, but the medical treatment received had been less than ideal, Mrs Rowe said.
‘They were like, ‘There’s something wrong with your neck, your neck’s wonky, and there’s something wrong with your arm’,’ she said. ‘That’s all they told us.’
The pair have reported to two separate hospitals, which are more than a nine-hour drive away from each other, but Mr Rowe has been unable to secure head scans for any lingering injuries.
Ms Rowe had also pleaded for help while she was stuck in Lima so that she could get home and get proper treatment.
Mr Rowe in hospital after the crash
‘We are waiting in severe pain,’ Mrs Rowe said.
‘We have no idea what’s wrong with us. We are freakin’ in Lima, praying that someone will do something so that we can get home.’
The couple had contacted the n Embassy for travel assistance and booked flights through their travel insurance.
But the route from Lima to Chile and on to Auckland, where the couple needed to get a connecting flight to Brisbane, required Visas they were having trouble obtaining.
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade ad told Daily Mail they were assisting the couple with their travel needs but said they could not provide further information.
‘The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to two ns in Peru,’ the spokesperson said.
‘Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.’