Man eats handfuls of snow to survive two-month ordeal in his car in sub-zero conditions

By
Allan Hall

Last updated at 3:36 PM on 19th February 2012

A Swedish man has been pulled barely alive from his snow-covered car surviving on nothing but snow for two months after he was trapped in sub-zero temperatures.

The man, 44, had eaten nothing but handfuls of snow since December 19
when he became bogged down in drifts near the town of Umea in southern
Sweden.

Experts think he went into a kind of human hibernation which slowed down his metabolism and pulled him through the ordeal.

Snowed-in: A Swedish man survived on nothing but snow for two months after his car was trapped in the sub zero temperatures in north of Umea in Sweden

Snowed-in: A Swedish man survived on nothing but snow for two months after his car was trapped in the sub zero temperatures in north of Umea in Sweden

He had driven off the main road on to forest tracks when his car became
stuck fast. On Friday a passing man on a snowmobile stopped to scrape
snow from the windscreen of the vehicle and saw movement inside.

As he recovered in a hospital today
details emerged of depression and debts piling up on him and it is
thought he might have been trying to take his own life.

Police initially thought he was a nature lover who had become trapped in the snow while on an expedition to photograph elk.

Trapped: After getting trapped in his car near Umea, in the north of Sweden, the middle aged man survived on snow

Trapped: After getting trapped in his car near Umea, in the north of Sweden, the middle aged man survived on snow

But now it emerges there was a court judgement against him in December because of debts totaling £150,000. 

Neighbours of his in the town of
Orebro in central Sweden said he had also broken up with his girlfriend
and had lost contact with his father and other family members 20 years
ago.

‘We now have to wait until he is better to try to find out what really was in his mind,’ said police officer Ebbe Nyberg.

He
survived by taking handfuls of snow from the roof of the car. The only
other things found with him were cigarettes and comic books.

‘Absolutely
incredible that he is alive, in part considering that he hasn’t had any
food, but also bearing in mind that it was really cold for a while
there after Christmas,’ said a member of the emergency services team
deployed to rescue him.

He was emaciated, barely able to move and could barely speak.

‘He was at the end of his tether,’ said a police spokesman. ‘It was doubtful he could have survived one or two more days.’

He was wrapped up in a sleeping bag
in the car but he had no other warmth; the fuel had run out long ago as
he kept the heater running to try to survive as the thermometer plunged
on some nights to minus 30 degrees C.

The man is recovering in the intensive care ward at Umea University Hospital where he is being fed liquid proteins.

He has hypothermia and is severely malnourished. He was never registered as missing.

Policeman Nyberg added ‘He was in a very
poor state when we found him. He could not speak, just a few broken
sentences and the words snow…eat.’ And he managed to say he hadn’t
eaten anything since December.’

Sub-zero temperatures: The Swede was found in his car on Friday and is recovering from hypothermia and malnourishment in hospital

Sub-zero temperatures: The Swede was found in his car on Friday and is recovering from hypothermia and malnourishment in hospital

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