Swedish man trapped in car for two months

ronaneire

2 months with no food :eek: Survival of the fittest. Hopefully he'll be OK.

A Swedish man was dug out alive after being snowed in to his car on a forest track for two months with no food, police and local media have reported.


The 45-year-old from southern Sweden was found, emaciated and too weak to utter more than a few words.

He was found not far from the city of Umea in the north of Sweden by snowmobilers who thought they had come across a car wreck until they dug their way to a window and saw movement inside.

The man, who was lying in the back seat in a sleeping bag, said he had been in the car since 19 December.


"Just incredible that he's alive considering that he had no food, but also since it's been really cold for some time after Christmas," a rescue team member told regional daily Vasterbottens-Kuriren.


Ebbe Nyberg, duty officer at the Umea police, said police saw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time.

"We would not make something like this up. The rescue services were on site too and saw the same as us," he told the newspaper.

Umea University Hospital, where the man is recovering after being rescued by police and a rescue team, said in a statement he was doing well considering the circumstances.


Doctors at the hospital said humans would normally be able to survive for about four weeks without food.


Besides eating snow, the man probably survived by going into a dormant-like state, physician Stefan Branth told Vasterbottens-Kuriren.
"A bit like a bear that hibernates. Humans can do that," he said.
"He probably had a body temperature of around 31 degrees (Celsius) which the body adjusted to. Due to the low temperature, not much energy was used up."


Police said they are still unsure why the man ended up under the snow in the forest.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0219/sweden.html

chin_grin

That band Meshuggah come from Umea.

That's my only opinion on this.

Doc Ruby

I find it hard to believe to be honest. A fatty might last five weeks with no food but two months is just really unlikely. The car might have acted like an igloo with the snow packed around it, especially if he had a sleeping bag with him.

Also humans don't hibernate. Meditate maybe, slowing the metabolism somewhat, but not much.

Standard Toaster

That's pretty amazing, lucky guy.
Did he not have a mobile?? Being from Sweden and all

tuxy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

I find it hard to believe to be honest. A fatty might last five weeks with no food but two months is just really unlikely.

Didn't some of the hunger strikers last about 2 months?

Doc Ruby

tuxy wrote: »

Didn't some of the hunger strikers last about 2 months?

Indeed they did, but they were in a controlled environment with medical care. I mean its possible, just exceedingly unlikely. More likely to my mind would be he was delerious when they pulled him out of it.

mikom

Swedish man trapped in car for two months

Payback for that time I got lost in IKEA.

Captain_Generic

He was probably shitfaced, I went two whole days without food before

JONJO THE MISER

I went about 6 days without food once.

Celly Smunt

pfft,some dude in Israel did that for 40 days and 40 nights a few years ago without water.

Paddy Bateman

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

I went about 6 days without food once.

Were you saving cash ?

opinion guy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Also humans don't hibernate. Meditate maybe, slowing the metabolism somewhat, but not much.

How do you know ?

Celly Smunt

opinion guy wrote: »

How do you know ?

He's Dr.Ruby.

Sunnyisland

Wonder was he listening to snowpatrol on his radio.

Celly Smunt

he should've pissed on the snow to melt it.

milehip1

pmcmahon wrote: »

pfft,some dude in Israel did that for 40 days and 40 nights a few years ago without water.

which was kinda dumb considering he could turn water into wine and feed a shed load of people with a few loaves and some tinned fish.

buzzerxx

Captain_Generic wrote: »

He was probably shitfaced, I went two whole days without food before

Where you ****faced ?

Mike 1972

Standard Toaster wrote: »

Did he not have a mobile??

Maybe his battery was dead, Or the snowstorm caused the local mast to fail, Or the layers of snow formed a conductive faraday cage around his car or..........

opinion guy

pmcmahon wrote: »

He's Dr.Ruby.

and ?
Is he a Professor of hypothermic studies ?

Ellis Dee

Although the local police say they have no reason to doubt his story, they also have no reason/right to investigate him too closely, as he is not - yet - suspected of any crime.:)

However, the newspaper Aftonbladet reports that late last year his debts were mounting and the authorities decided to assume control of his rental properties. It then emerged that his debts totalled about 1.6 million kroner (roughly €180,000 million). His girl friend had left him and he hasn't been in contact with his father for 20 years. All in all, a bit of a strange case.

However, he may be telling the truth. According to the Swedish media, he was "well muffled up" and a professor has said that it is just about possible for a person to survive without food for that long. He says he was unable to get the car door open enough to get out, but did manage to grab snow from the roof, which gave him the water he needed.:cool:

http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=109&artikel=4973365

(see pictures) http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article14397000.ab

Gingernuts31

Hope this guy is alright. Fair play to him but it does seem a bit far fetched. There is something dodgy with this story. He could open the window to get snow for water but he couldn't try to dig his way out of the snow by pulling it into the car and onto the seats etc? Its a big enough vehicle to do that especially if he compacted it. I understand he didn't know how much snow was there but wouldn't it be worth a shot. Its either that or wait till you die of hunger and the cold.

fonda

pmcmahon wrote: »

he should've pissed on the snow to melt it.

Or on himself, Bear Grylls always does it!....dont really know why though!

biko

Since 19 December and no-one missed him for Christmas?
That's ****ing harsh.

Ellis Dee wrote: »

It then emerged that his debts totalled about 1.6 million kroner (roughly €1.8 million).

More like 180.000 Euro.

Greentopia

Ellis Dee wrote: »

However, he may be telling the truth. According to the Swedish media, he was "well muffled up" and a professor has said that it is just about possible for a person to survive without food for that long. .:cool:

http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=109&artikel=4973365

(see pictures) http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article14397000.ab

If you mean that professor from Uppsala in the related article in aftonbladet-he also said that it depends on the physical makeup of the person and their age though also. He said that it would be theoretically possible for someone to live 70/80 days on their own energy if they weighed over 70kilos of which 10 to 12 kilos was fat and had a low metabolism.
And he said the more muscle and fat one has the longer you can live... obviously I guess.
We don't know how fat and muscular that guy was when he went into the car on Dec 19th

Greentopia

Gingernuts31 wrote: »

Hope this guy is alright. Fair play to him but it does seem a bit far fetched. There is something dodgy with this story. He could open the window to get snow for water but he couldn't try to dig his way out of the snow by pulling it into the car and onto the seats etc? Its a big enough vehicle to do that especially if he compacted it. I understand he didn't know how much snow was there but wouldn't it be worth a shot. Its either that or wait till you die of hunger and the cold.

Did you see the photos of the car? no way he would have been able to pull enough snow into the car to dig his way out, he could only get a hand out to get snow from the car roof. And then if he tried and failed he'd have a car soaking with water and he'd certainly then die of hypothermia.
I was up in Umea and Pitea in winter, they can get up to half a meter snowfall at a time that would completely cover a car in a few days that was not on a road where the snow was regularly ploughed.

Aftonbladet said he had Swedish defence force issue skin salve and soft drink in the car so would've helped a little for a while anyway. He had a sleeping bag also.

Doc Ruby

opinion guy wrote: »

How do you know ?

Because the person that manages to get a human to hibernate is going be extremely wealthy, the medical advantages would be huge - pulling someone out of a car crash then inducing hibernation could save a great many lives. Labs are working on it as we speak, without much success.

The closest contemporary accounts of human hibernation are those of Indian yogis and fakirs, but none of these stand up to much scrutiny. Most of the other accounts date back a hundred years or more and as such are likewise suspect.

There are a couple of bizzare and verified modern cases, but these were when someone was actually frozen through or drowned in icy water and recovered fully, which is not the case here, nor would they qualify as hibernation.

I'm not saying full hibernation is completely impossible, just to the best of our knowledge right now its not something humans can do. Him surviving without food for two months is likewise on the outer edges of possibility, but I've no idea how he might have been able to move after that length of time.

crackcrack30

Wasnt it reported 2 yrs ago how a car went down off the highway somewhere in US , survived RTC but trapped, on died one survived (covered in maggots from dead body i believe)
I was led to believe about 60 days survival with water, 21 without depending on fittness ect

opinion guy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Because the person that manages to get a human to hibernate is going be extremely wealthy, the medical advantages would be huge - pulling someone out of a car crash then inducing hibernation could save a great many lives. Labs are working on it as we speak, without much success.

The closest contemporary accounts of human hibernation are those of Indian yogis and fakirs, but none of these stand up to much scrutiny. Most of the other accounts date back a hundred years or more and as such are likewise suspect.

There are a couple of bizzare and verified modern cases, but these were when someone was actually frozen through or drowned in icy water and recovered fully, which is not the case here, nor would they qualify as hibernation.

I'm not saying full hibernation is completely impossible, just to the best of our knowledge right now its not something humans can do. Him surviving without food for two months is likewise on the outer edges of possibility, but I've no idea how he might have been able to move after that length of time.

So what you are trying to say is - you don't know.

Doc Ruby

crackcrack30 wrote: »

I was led to believe about 60 days survival with water, 21 without depending on fittness ect

Its the rule of threes my friend, three minutes without air, three hours of exposure, three days without water, three weeks without food. This is how long you have to live in most cases. I've outlined a few of the exceptions and gotchas in the S&SS forum if anyone wants to look at that.

The rule of threes, learn it, live it, love it.

Doc Ruby

opinion guy wrote: »

So what you are trying to say is - you don't know.

Do you think he went into bona fide hibernation?

James_sb

If it was a suicide attempt, and it seems pretty lame considering the pictures, then maybe he brought with him some food for the start?

I'm thinking he was not entirely committed and had a snack box in there with him for the first month.. probably just wanted a week away from it all, damn money lenders will find you most places... then got snowed in and happy in his solitude thought to try stay there... then when he realised that he'd need the car free to drive to safety, he though, 'dig my way out', nah.. I'll just stay here in my comfy sleeping bag until someone else does that for me.

opinion guy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Do you think he went into bona fide hibernation?

Well first off how are we defining "hibernation" ?

I don't presume to know what happened. All we know is he was stuck for two months (alledgedly), he had no food (probably easy enough to verify going on how much stool was in there with him), it was cold.

Doc Ruby

opinion guy wrote: »

Well first off how are we defining "hibernation" ?

I don't presume to know what happened. All we know is he was stuck for two months (alledgedly), he had no food (probably easy enough to verify going on how much stool was in there with him), it was cold.

I see, this is a conversation you can have by yourself tbh, I've better things to do with my Sunday.

opinion guy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

I see, this is a conversation you can have by yourself tbh, I've better things to do with my Sunday.

I was about to say the same thing. Enjoy your Sunday

latenia

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Its the rule of threes my friend, three minutes without air, three hours of exposure, three days without water, three weeks without food. This is how long you have to live in most cases. I've outlined a few of the exceptions and gotchas in the S&SS forum if anyone wants to look at that.

The rule of threes, learn it, live it, love it.

Are you Dwight from The US Office?

recylingbin

Operation Transformation Extreme.

Seomra Mushie

Doc Ruby wrote: »

I find it hard to believe to be honest. A fatty might last five weeks with no food but two months is just really unlikely.

As long as there's a water source, a person can live for 60-70 days without food.

It sounds like he was close to death, which seems about right.

goose2005

Ellis Dee wrote: »

Although the local police say they have no reason to doubt his story, they also have no reason/right to investigate him too closely, as he is not - yet - suspected of any crime.:)

However, the newspaper Aftonbladet reports that late last year his debts were mounting and the authorities decided to assume control of his rental properties. It then emerged that his debts totalled about 1.6 million kroner (roughly €180,000 million). His girl friend had left him and he hasn't been in contact with his father for 20 years. All in all, a bit of a strange case.

However, he may be telling the truth. According to the Swedish media, he was "well muffled up" and a professor has said that it is just about possible for a person to survive without food for that long. He says he was unable to get the car door open enough to get out, but did manage to grab snow from the roof, which gave him the water he needed.:cool:
http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=109&artikel=4973365

(see pictures) http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article14397000.ab

What did he own, half of Dublin?

Toby Take a Bow

Standard Toaster wrote: »

That's pretty amazing, lucky guy.
Did he not have a mobile?? Being from Sweden and all

Are Sweden well-known for mobile phones? I thought that was Finland (although Umea is close to the Finnish border).

Junior Jacon Jeese Jurger

He hadn't had a **** in 2 months?

Jesus Shaves

hot car engine = melting snow = freedom

story is bull

Junior Jacon Jeese Jurger

darokane wrote: »

hot car engine = melting snow = freedom

story is bull

Surely if he couldn't open the door, he could of kicked a window through when he still had energy?

aujopimur

It beats going to Weight Watchers.

Guy:Incognito

Ellis Dee wrote: »

However, the newspaper Aftonbladet reports that late last year his debts were mounting and the authorities decided to assume control of his rental properties. It then emerged that his debts totalled about 1.6 million kroner (roughly €180,000 million).

€180b? And we thought Ireland was broke.

Morlar

http://img.rasset.ie/000592b1-640.jpg

Lazy bastard. One good shove definitely would have gotten that door open.

AeoNGriM

In b4 the Hollywood movie version of the story

Nothingbetter2d

pmcmahon wrote: »

pfft,some dude in Israel did that for 40 days and 40 nights a few years ago without water.

wasn't it proven that it was all just the rantings of a madman?

dharn

Was it ?

kincsem

I just want to know the sleeping bag brand name (and possibly the car make/model.)

Mikko Mallikas

It was all planned, he knew what he was doing although it seems he was somewhat troubled, here are some pics from inside the car from a Finnish site.http://www.mtv3.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat.shtml/2012/02/1498613/kaksi-kuukautta-jumissa-taalla-uutta-tietoa-uskomattomasta-ruotsalaistarinasta

Mr.Crinklewood

Standard Toaster wrote: »

That's pretty amazing, lucky guy.
Did he not have a mobile?? Being from Sweden and all

If he had a mobile he could have mixed it with the snow and escaped on his Snowmobile.