KUALA LUMPUR - A STUDENT survived for 18 days alone in Malaysia's dense jungle with only a few chocolate sticks to eat after becoming lost during a camping trip, the New Straits Times reported.

Ms Nor Umaisarah Sameaun, 21, was accidentally left behind by her university group in the popular tourist area of Gunung Tahan, Malaysia's second highest peak located in central Pahang state.

'I shouted but no one could hear me. I didn't even know how to go back to the camp site as the surroundings looked the same,' she told the paper on Wednesday.

She was bruised, sprained an ankle and almost drowned when she slipped and fell into a river, forcing her to lay up five days before resuming her search for a way out of the jungle.

'I almost gave up,' she added, pictured in the paper looking emaciated and hooked up to a drip.

Eventually she shouted for help when she came across some backpacks on the river bank which belonged to two Russian tourists and their guide who helped her to safety. -- AFP