Peter Skyllberg, 44, from Sweden, survived inside his car for two months, apparently after going into a state of hibernation, which slowed down his metabolism and enabled him to pull through his ordealReuters
Peter Skyllberg, 44, from Sweden, survived inside his car for two months, apparently after going into a state of hibernation, which slowed down his metabolism and enabled him to pull through his ordealReutersVesna VulovicThe TelegraphPoon Limmerchant-navy.netSwiss skier Cedric Genoud, 21, was punished by the elements after wandering off the beaten track in Switzerland in 2010. While enjoying a solo run on dangerous slopes near the village of Evolene in the Swiss Alps, Genoud suddenly felt the snow give way beneath him. He was buried in the avalanche, which he describes as wrapping him up “like a sarcophagus”. Ordinarily anyone covered in snow would be expected to die in minutes, either through suffocation or hypothermia. When rescuers finally dug Genoud out of the snow 17 hours later, they were shocked to discovered that he was alive, though suffering from a mild case of hypothermia, and had survived due to a small pocket of air.ReutersDuring a 2003 climbing trip, US mountaineer Aron Ralston, 26, had to make an impossible decision when he fell down a crevice in a canyon in southeastern Utah, causing a 800-pound (360-kilogram) boulder to pin his right arm to a canyon wall. Ralston spent five days and seven hours trapped in the crevice, as he warded off dehydration and hypothermia. Despite repeatedly calling for help and trying numerous techniques to free his limb, he eventually realised that he would die before he was found. After carving his name and date of birth into the canyon wall and filming farewells to his loved ones on his portable camcorder, he sliced his own arm off using a portable tool. He then managed to climb out of the canyon, rappel down a 20 metre (65ft) wall and hike until he was found by a family on vacation. Ralston’s ordeal was immortalised by director Danny Boyle in the film 127 Hours, starring James Franco.ReutersThrown out of his home by abusive parents, Axel Rivas, of Chile, was placed in a children’s home, which he escaped from at the age of eight. He vanished without a trace for three years, before eventually being captured by police in 2001. He was unable to speak and was depressed and aggressive. Rivas later revealed that he had survived by living with a pack of feral dogs in a cave. He would scavenge for food in bins alongside the animals and even suckled on dog’s milk, which he referred to as “my breakfast”.Reuters
Doctors and survival experts were stunned when a 44-year-old man was discovered barely alive after surviving for two months in his car buried in snow.
Peter Skyllberg was trapped in his car under two feet of snow on a forest track near the town of Umea, around 260 km (160 miles) north of Stockholm.
In what doctors are hailing as "the case of a lifetime", Skyllberg is thought to have gone into a state of hibernation, as he survived on snacks in his car and small amounts of snow.
International Business Times UK finds similar stories of people who managed to survive against the odds.
