Ultimate Survivor?

krissovo

Two months surviving on snow....

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

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.

Khannie

Saw this in the metro this morning. Very impressive. He would have been dead without the sleeping bag and no question about it.

Doc Ruby

I think tabs added this to the SHTF thread there...

Its an unreal story. Hibernation its crazy.

A similiar story/fact I read recently - It compared deaths due to wounds obtained in the falklands and vietnam. The story expected the Vietnam war to have less deaths from wounds because there was more helcopter assitance and it wasnt as isolated as the falklands but the falklands was significantly less due to the lower temps which helped people survive, like the guy above suppose

Grizzly 45

There is possibly somthing to it,but not hibernation,more like restricted circulation possibly.My Grandfather was on the Russian front in WW2 ,and he always said that alot of the German troops survived some horrific gunshot and shrapnel injuries due to the cold and snow slowing down the bleeding,even to the point some medics could work on the injuries without anashtetic.Bear in mind we are talking Russian Winter temps of around minus 30 so that would have somthing to pssibly do with it.

'Nam,the problem was more the opposite heat,makes you sweat,thins out your blood somwhat,you bleed out quicker.