Madagascar Minister swims for 12 hours to safety after helicopter crashes at Sea during a rescue mission.
“It’s not my time to die”, exhausted police minister Serge Gelle said as he recovered on a stretcher.
Another security official travelling with him in the helicopter also survived the crash and swam for 12 hours to safety.
The team had been flying to inspect the site of a shipwreck in the northeast of the country on Monday night.
The number of people confirmed dead had risen to 85 after 21 more bodies were found by Wednesday according to the maritime agency.
About 50 people have so far been rescued with three still missing.
The vessel was a cargo ship that was not authorised to carry passengers and was overloaded and water flooded its engine according to one official.
The helicopter’s pilot and another military official onboard are still missing.
Mr Gelle,57 said his helicopter came down after it caught a gust of wind and he swam from 7:30 last night until 7:30 this morning to Mahambo.
Mr Gelle always had great stamina in sports and he has kept up his rhythm as a Minister, just like a 30-year-old with the nerve of steel according to Mr Ravoavy.
Mr Gelle served in the police for three decades before he was named a minister in August of this year.
The fact that he survived the night cold was seen as a miracle.
