A young man has died in the Simpson desert and another is in hospital after a desperate trek for help.
SEARING temperatures and a decision to abandon a bogged four-wheel-drive and walk through the Simpson Desert have claimed the life of an Outback station worker.
Experts believe Mauritz "Mo" Pieterse, 25, would have died in little more than two hours after losing litres of water and succumbing to heat exhaustion and dehydration after a routine maintenance check in rural southwest Queensland turned fatal.
On Monday morning, the experienced conservation fieldworker and his colleague Josh Hayes, 30, set out for an easy routine maintenance check on a spring from their posting at Ethabuka Station, heading across the border of the Simpson Desert.
But 16km into the half-day trip, their vehicle became bogged and after several attempts to get it out, the pair made the ultimately fatal decision to walk back.
Mauritz "Mo" Pieterse was located in the Simpson Desert in Queensland.
Mr Pieterse's body was found just before midnight and Mr Hayes was found severely dehydrated 2km away.
"We were told his last words were 'tell my family that I love them, I'm not going to make it but you have to keep going'," Mr Pieterse's devastated mother Geraldine Pieterse said.
A Facebook image of Mauritz.
The news of Mr Pieterse's death has left his family stunned as Workplace Health and Safety investigators begin their inquiries.
The Pieterse family are now travelling from their Western Australian home to take his body home.
"He was the best son ever . . . it's just so absolutely unbelievable," Ms Pieterse said.
A file image of Queensland's arid south-west near Birdsville.
The pair were supposed to have an emergency kit that held vital survival equipment but the compulsory kit was not believed to be in their four-wheel-drive.
Outback survivor teacher Bob Cooper, who trains rural workers like Mr Pieterse said he was contacted by Bush Heritage on Tuesday and told of the fatal accident.
"It's a mishap that turned into a tragedy," he said.
The men got bogged near Ethabuka Station in far western Queensland. One man died as they tried to get back to civilisation. Pic: Google Maps
"All they were were bogged and they just made some poor decisions based on fear . . . that's what gets you - the fear."
"The loss of two litres of body fluids in this condition in an hour to two hours would cause a loss of 30 per cent in rational thinking."
"It's heart wrenching but it's not the first time this has happened.
"Every single time you go for a walk or a drive or a horse ride you should be prepared."
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