Snowmobilers in northern Sweden have discovered a man who claims he was snowbound in his car for two months with no food.
The man, who was lying in the back seat in a sleeping bag, was dug out alive from his vehicle on a forest track close to the city of Umea.
The 45-year-old said he had been in the car since 19 December. He remains in a stable condition in hospital.
Rescue team member Vasterbottens-Kuriren told Swedish newspaper, Regional Daily: “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. We would not make something like this up. The rescue services were on site too and saw the same as us.”
Umea police duty officer, Ebbe Nyberg added that police saw no reason to doubt that the man had been stuck in the car for a very long time. Why the man ended up under the snow in the forest remains unknown, Nyberg said.
Doctors at Umea University Hospitalthere said humans would normally be able to survive for about four weeks without food. Physician Stefan Branth told Vasterbottens-Kuriren: "Besides eating snow, the man probably survived by going into a dormant-like state".