A student in Hong Kong ate leaves and drank stream water to survive after a week lost in Ma An Son National Park.
Hundreds of police, firefighters and volunteers have been combing the 28.8-square-kilometer Ma On Shan Country Park for the past week after Matthew Tsang left school in Mong Kok last week and has not returned home.
According to SCMP, the student went to the park to improve his mood. However, he suddenly fainted and only regained consciousness when it was dark. Therefore, he could not determine the direction. Tsang said he survived by drinking stream water, eating leaves and any wild fruit he found on the way.
When Typhoon Koinu hit Hong Kong and brought heavy rain, the victim’s clothes got wet. Tsang decided to take off his wet clothes. At the time the rescue team found him, he was still alive, but without a shirt, pants, or shoes.
The search effort involved 122 firefighters, 28 fire engines, nine ambulances and other resources. Drones and artificial intelligence technology were also used in the search.
Last June, four Colombian children (the oldest was 13 years old and the youngest was 11 months old) miraculously survived in the Amazon jungle for about 40 days after the plane they were on crashed.
The children are members of the Huitoto indigenous community. They have been taught jungle skills since childhood. The children are very familiar with the jungle because they have been taught hunting and fishing since they were young.
In addition, they also know how to set up camp in the wild, using children’s hair ties and especially know how to take care of babies, distinguish between edible plants.
When found, although malnourished, the four children were completely conscious. A vital factor in their survival was that the four children knew how to take shelter and avoid wild animals so they could survive until the day they were found.
The Amazon rainforest covers 1% of the world’s surface and is home to 10% of the animal species we know today. Colombia’s Amazon rainforest is home to jaguars, snakes and other predators.