Man lost in Andes for four months found alive after eating RATS to survive

 

        

Raul Fernando Gomez Circunegui, 58, set out in May to cross the mountains from Chile to Argentina on foot after his motorcycle broke down but lost his way in a snowstorm

  

Rescued: Raul Fernando Gomez Circunegui survived for four months

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A man who disappeared in the remote Andes Mountains four months ago has been found alive after eating rats and raisins to survive.
Raul Fernando Gomez Circunegui set out in May to cross the mountains from Chile to Argentina on foot after his motorcycle broke down.
The 58-year-old, from Uruguay, then reportedly lost his way during a snowstorm.
Gomez was discovered on Sunday in a shelter 2,840 metres (9,318 feet) above sea level by officials from Argentina's northwestern province of San Juan who had traveled there to record snow levels.
Feeble Gomez was able to hobble over and open the shelter’s door, alerting the crew to his presence.
San Juan Governor Jose Luis Gioja told the local Diario de Cuyo newspaper: "The truth is that this is a miracle. We still can’t believe it.
"We let him talk to his wife, his mother and his daughter. ... I asked him: ’Are you a believer?’ He told me, ’no, but now I am.’"

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Gomez managed to stay alive through the harsh winter by eating sugar, raisins, rats and the shelter’s leftover supplies.
He lost 20kg (44lbs) during the ordeal and is dehydrated, according to media reports.
Photos of an emaciated, bearded Gomez resting on a bed were splashed on the websites of Argentine newspapers Clarin and La Nacion.
A doctor who examined Gomez was surprised by his resilience, according to Uruguayan newspaper El Pais.
"He’s a patient with high blood pressure, a history of smoking and signs of undernourishment," his doctor said. But "he’s going to be fine and in a few days we’re going to discharge him."
In 1972, a plane carrying an Uruguayan rugby team to Chile crashed in the Andes. Some of the survivors sustained themselves by eating dead bodies.