A young Saudi man who was lost in a desert for six days was found alive and rescued early on Wednesday, Gulf News reported.
According to the English-language daily, "Hosam Al Salmi left Makkah in western Saudi Arabia on Thursday, driving towards the Tabuk Region in the north-western part of the kingdom".
However, while on his way, the young man took a wrong turn through a desert road, lost his way back to a major highway and was left stranded.
On Saturday, Al Salmi called his family, telling them he was lost and needed help. He also contacted security officials and tried to give them information on where he thought he was.
The last time he was able to contact his loved ones before he was found was on Monday.
A viral hashtag saw people call on authorities to save the man's life
Soon after he contacted his family, they launched a social media hashtag calling on people to help find their son. The hashtag went viral soon after and saw thousands call on authorities to save Al Salmi's life.
After hearing about the case, Aoun Society for Search and Rescue, a volunteer group that helps in locating stranded people in the kingdom, joined the search for him.
In a statement posted on their official Twitter account, they wrote:
"We received information that a stranded man had contacted his family on Monday afternoon suffering from thirst and requesting prompt assistance. His family have been unable to reach him since."
A few hours later, volunteers from the rescue organization were able to track down Al Salmi and found him alive.
The team's leader, Nasser Al Dossari, said the young man was doing well but needed to get a general health checkup and be hospitalized for dehydration.
People were relieved the young man was found alive
"The number of human beings asking about this man and expressing genuine worry about his safety just as they would if it was a member of their own families, is a beautiful thing to witness. There is still some good in this world."