A Swedish man, who had been missing for more than two months, was found alive, but in extremely poor condition, in a remote region of that country last week. The man was forced to survive on just snow and ice, after becoming stranded when his car got stuck in deep snow.
Last Friday, the 44-year old Peter Skyllberg was discovered by two others who passed his semi-buried vehicle while snowmobiling down a seldom-used forest road. At first, they thought that the car had been abandoned, but upon further inspection, they were surprised to find a man inside. At the time, Skyllberg was said to be malnourished and lacking almost all ability to speak or move.
Over the course of the two months that he was stranded, Skyllberg had no food and was forced to melt snow and ice for drinking water. The lack of nourishment wasn’t his only concern however, as during the time that he was missing, Europe has been enduring a major deep freeze. Temperatures in the region have routinely dipped as low as -20ºF in recent weeks, which is extremely dangerous for prolonged exposure.
Survival experts say it is a miracle that the man is alive. The human body can survive a long time on just water, but two months is pushing those limits to the extreme. The cold weather could have easily resulted in his death as well, but it is believed that the snow in which his car was encased provided a measure of insulation that helped to keep Skyllberg warm and alive.
As of this past weekend, Skyllberg remained in intensive care at the Umea University Hospital, where he will no doubt face a long road to recovery.
[Photo credit: Rolf Hojer/Scanpix/Reuters]