A Swedish man has been pulled barely alive from his snow-covered car having survived on nothing but snow for two months in sub-zero temperatures.
Peter Skyllberg, 44, had eaten nothing but handfuls of snow since December 19 when his car became bogged down in drifts near the town of Umea in northern Sweden
Pictures of the vehicle's interior show the dashboard and seats covered in ice after temperatures plunged to -30C.
Experts think he went into a kind of human hibernation which slowed down his metabolism and pulled him through the ordeal in what they have described as the 'case of a lifetime'.
Mr Skyllberg had driven off the main road on to forest tracks where 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.
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| Peter Skyllberg had warm clothes with him |
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.
But now it emerges there was a court judgment against him in December because of debts totaling £150,000.
Neighbours of his in the town of Orebro in central Sweden
'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.
Mr Skyllberg 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 -30C.
Pictures also show food wrappers and drink cartons , which suggests he may have had supplies with him for at least some of the time.
Mr Skyllberg is recovering in the intensive care ward at Umea University Hospital
He has hypothermia and is severely malnourished. He was never registered as missing, for which there is currently no explanation.
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
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