A Kenya Wildlife Service pilot who survived on his own urine and leaves for eight days in the Kenyan forest told reporters hell be back in the cockpit as soon as hes recovered. Capt. Solomon Nyanjui was flying a Kenya Power and Lighting helicopter when it went down 10 kilometers from Chuka Town, in the Mt. Kenya forest. He broke some ribs and hurt one of his hands in the crash but other than being dehydrated and hungry he was none the worse for wear from his ordeal when he was found on Friday. The previous Monday, Nyanjui sent a mobile phone message to a colleague and searchers used the signal to trace his general whereabouts but bad weather hampered the search. Nyanjui told reporters the helicopter fell through the thick forest canopy and stayed mostly intact so he was able to use it for shelter. He said he had to rest before trying to signal for help. “I could not leave the plane since I was vomiting blood and I needed some time to recover from the shock,” he said. More than 100 searchers and seven aircraft were involved in the search.
Pilot Rescued From Kenyan Wilderness
Key Takeaways:
- A Kenya Wildlife Service pilot, Capt. Solomon Nyanjui, survived for eight days in the Mt. Kenya forest after his helicopter crashed, sustaining himself on his own urine and leaves.
- Despite suffering broken ribs and a hand injury, Nyanjui used the mostly intact helicopter for shelter while awaiting rescue.
- His location was initially traced via a mobile phone message, and an extensive search involving over 100 people and seven aircraft eventually found him, despite bad weather.
- Remarkably, the pilot expressed his immediate intent to return to flying once he has recovered from the ordeal.
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