When snowmobilers discovered a car on a deserted road near the north-eastern town of Umea Friday they assumed it was an abandoned vehicle. But when they dug around three feet into the snow they saw 44-year-old Peter Skyllberg lying on the back seat inside a sleeping bag. Skyllberg was so weak he could barely speak but told police he had been in his car without any food since December 19, apparently surviving only by eating snow, reports the Guardian. Photographs from inside the car showing empty food and drink wrappers suggest Skyllberg did have at least some sustenance, notes the BBC. Police and doctors were shocked the man could survive that long considering temperatures in the area had dropped as low as -22F. One doctor told a Swedish newspaper that Skyllberg may have survived by going into a kind of hibernation. But others expressed skepticism saying that humans can’t really lower their temperatures significantly without going into a coma. At the very least it seems his warm clothes and sleeping bag were two important keys to his survival. Even though there have been other examples of people surviving for long periods of time with almost no food, “Skyllberg’s recent 60-day stint is an extreme case,” writes the BBC. Doctors believe two months is really at the upper limit of how long a person can survive. “That is about the time hunger strikers in prisons tend to die,” a doctor said. “But they are normally in warmer conditions.” On Sunday, Skyllberg was “awake and able to communicate,” according to the hospital. The Telegraph cites local newspapers that talked to Skyllberg’s neighbor, who described him as a loner mired in debt.
No comments:
Post a Comment