Kenyan pilot 'survived on leaves'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7138832.stm

Version 0 of 1.

A Kenya Wildlife Service pilot found alive after his helicopter crashed in a forest near Mt Kenya said he survived on leaves and water for eight days.

Solomon Nyanjui, a retired major, broke seven ribs in the accident he described as his worst in a 20-year career.

"I could tell poisonous leaves from the sap they produced, thanks to my military training," he told the BBC.

When better, he says he aims to improve survival training and search-and-rescue techniques in the aviation industry.

Text messages

The KWS pilot crashed in November after he had dropped passengers in the east of the country.

"For eight days I heard planes flying over me and almost despaired because I knew they were not seeing me due to the thick canopy of trees," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

During those hard times, I thought of what would become of my wife and children if I did not walk out of the forest alive Solomon Nyanjui

"I tried to send text messages to my colleagues giving them directions of the crash site but help did not come soon enough," he said.

After the little water he had finished, the pilot was forced to survive on rain drops and chew leaves.

Maj Nyanjui plucked leaves from the shrubs all around him and left them for eight hours before examining the sap and deciding whether they were safe to eat.

A rescue team which trekked into the forest eventually located him thanks to his text message information.

His doctor, Dan Gikonyo, said Maj Nyanjui had suffered trauma, acute dehydration and renal failure due to his body's efforts to conserve water.

"During those hard times, I thought of what would become of my wife and children if I did not walk out of the forest alive," the major said, soon after leaving hospital to join his family.

His wife, Agatha, said she always believed he would survive.

"What kept me sane was the belief that he was still alive," she admitted.

Despite the ordeal, Maj Nyanjui insists that he will continue flying as soon as doctors give him a clean bill of health.

"I have learnt lessons from the crash and will join my colleagues in the aviation industry to improve survival, search and rescue techniques," he said.