After a helicopter crashed in the Indian Ocean Monday evening, Madagascar's police minister and an air force mechanic swam for 12 hours to reach safety.
A fisherman in a canoe found General Serge Gellé, the Secretary of State for the Gendarmerie, in the ocean and transported him the rest of the way to shore, officials said.
Chief Warrant Officer Jimmy Laitsara, the mechanic, swam all the way to the Madagascar town of Mahambo.
Two other people, the helicopter's pilot and another passenger, remain missing after the crash.
In a video posted on Twitter by Madagascar's defense ministry, the 57-year-old Gelle is seen sitting in a lounge chair still wearing his military camouflage. His hands were pale and wrinkled from spending so much time in the cold water.
"My turn to die has not yet come, thank God. I'm well. I'm just cold. But I'm sad because I don't know if my friends are alive," Gelle said in the video, referencing the still-missing pilot and passenger.
Gelle said that there were four people total in the helicopter and he was seated behind the pilot. When the aircraft went down, he focused on remaining level headed and "did everything to stay alive," he said.
"Not having a life jacket, I unfastened the seat and used it as a buoy. I stayed calm and took off anything heavy I was carrying like my boots and belt," Gelle said.
Gelle said he expected to be back at work in 24 hours and said that he lost his cell phone in the crash.
Many in Madagascar applauded Gelle's feat, calling him a "hero" an "extraordinary athlete," and "an example to follow" on social media.
The cause of the helicopter crash "remains undetermined," authorities said. Gelle said that gusts of wind had destabilized the aircraft.
The helicopter was one of two flying a government delegation to view the site where a boat, the Francia, sank, drowning at least 64 people on board.
On Wednesday 25 bodies were recovered off the island of Sainte-Marie, in the northeast of the country, according to officials.
The small cargo ship sank Monday while it was illegally transporting 138 people, according a statement Wednesday by the Maritime and River Port Agency.
Efforts continue to recover the more than 20 people still missing, said the agency.
The Francia sank Monday morning about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the town of Soanierana Ivongo.
"A flood in the engine room caused the massacre. Obviously, the boat had exceeded its loading capacity," said Maurice Tianjara, deputy director-general of the maritime agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Zoe Strozewski is a Newsweek reporter based in New Jersey. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and global politics. Zoe ... Read more
