The sole survivor of a plane crash in Bolivia stayed alive by eating insects, drinking his own urine and painting an arrow in the ground with his blood to show rescuers where he was, according to an interview published in a Bolivian newspaper.
Minor Vidal, centre, who survived the plane crash, with members of the Navy after being found along the banks of the Ibare River
The sole survivor of a plane crash in the Bolivian Amazon stayed alive in the jungle for three days by drinking his own urine and eating insects and by trying to alert rescuers by drawing arrows with his blood.
With a broken shoulder blade and ribs, punctured lung and a head wound, Minor Vidal was barely able to wriggle free from the wreckage of the aircraft. He was finally rescued when a navy patrol boat spotted him waving his shirt on a river bank.
The 35-year-old medicines and cosmetics salesman was one of nine passengers and crew on a flight with the Bolivian airline Aerocon, travelling from Santa Cruz to Trinidad, when it crashed 10 miles from its destination on Tuesday evening.
Mr Vidal yesterday described the panic as he suddenly realised that the aircraft's approach was "strange". "It was descending, flying around Trinidad, and it descended too much," he told La Razó* newspaper.
"Everyone was shouting. I told them to have faith in God, that God would help them.
"Then everyone went quiet. There was fire and the smell of gasoline. Then I couldn't see anything or anyone. That moment was horrible. The next day I realised that everyone had died. The plane was smashed to pieces."
Mr Vidal was seriously injured and trapped in the wreckage. "I was sitting in the last row. I tried to get out, with all the pain. I opened up a hole but my ribs and chest stopped me from getting out. Little by little, dragging my body, I began to climb out."
Using skills learnt on camping and fishing trips and in the Scouts, Mr Vidal survived another 62 hours in the jungle as he set off in search of help.
That knowledge allowed him to filter drinking water through his shirt, leave signs along his path and wait by a river bank – one of the few open areas in the rainforest where he could make himself visible to the people who eventually rescued him.
He was eventually picked up on Friday evening and taken to a hospital in Trinidad, where he was treated for injuries including a collapsed lung and a gash on his forehead in which insects had laid eggs during his jungle ordeal. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.
On Saturday, he was transferred on another Aerocon flight to a hospital in Cochabamba, where he received a string of visitors, including his family. From his wheelchair, he gave a thumbs-up to a cheering crowd as he arrived inthe city.
News of Mr Vidal's survival generated national celebrations in Bolivia over the weekend.
"He is a very brave man," said Defence Minister Cecilia Chacón. "With such a heavy impact and so many hours in the jungle, it really is a miracle that he survived."
Aerocon spokesman Nelson Kinn said the company would pay for Mr Vidal's medical costs.
The aircraft's black box has been recovered and sent to Brazil for analysis, he said , and that at the time of the crash, visibility had been affected by heavy smoke from seasonal fires started by ranchers.
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