65-Year-Old Engineer Gets Lost in the Amazon and Survives on Bees

08/22/2014 - 09h08

The shaky voice and the wounds on his arms and legs are proof of the nightmare endured by the civil engineer Gileno Vieira da Rocha, 65.

He got lost in the Amazon rainforest for 12 days and survived by eating, amongst other things, bees.

He was found almost unconscious on a riverbank on Tuesday. He says he had already given up hope of ever being found two days beforehand.

"After the tenth day I just walked and walked, thinking about my wife, my children and grandchildren. I had already given up hope of being rescued," he says.

He will recover from the experience at home in Manaus.

Rocha's ordeal began on August 7, in a village in the countryside near Apuí, in the state of Amazonas, 281 miles from state capital Manaus.

He was staying at Vila do Sucunduri on the Trans-Amazonian highway, where he was working on a gymnasium.

After a misunderstanding with a local family, Rocha felt threatened and decided to flee. He hitched two rides along the highway, but scared that he was being followed, he left the road and went into the forest, where he got lost.

BEES AND WATER

Rocha had only the clothes he was wearing. He had no equipment for survival, no way even of building a fire.

He lost his shoes swimming in the river and was forced to eat whatever edible material he could find, such as palm hearts.

"I was scared of being attacked by large or poisonous animals, like jaguars, snakes. It happens a lot there," he says.

After four days in the jungle, however, he felt so weak he did not even have the strength to bite.

"I only managed to eat bees and drink water. So it went like that, from the fifth day until the end: bees and water," he says.

He also suffered with the intense sun during the daytime.

A Native of Manicoré, 206 miles from Manaus, Rocha says he used his survival instincts. He followed a stream until he arrived at a river.

Exhausted, he collapsed and passed out on the floor. When he awoke, he saw a local resident and cried for help.

"On the night before last, I couldn't get up anymore. Then a little bird flew over, and started to sing, and it only went quiet after I got up and walked as far as the river," he says.

He was rescued by the police and fire brigade, suffering from dehydration and various minor injuries.

He was confused and exhausted, but his life was not in danger. He received first aid in the local village, then in Apuí, and flew to Manaus the day afterwards.

According to the police, the engineer walked nearly 19 miles, but without any map or directions, he ended up going round in circles. He was found close to the place where he disappeared originally.

"I used to love working in the forest, but I'll have to think again,' says Rocha, father of five and grandfather of six. 'I'm going to sit down with my family and think about a new direction for my life. That's what I'm going to dedicate myself to."

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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	CBAM
	The civil engineer Gileno Vieira da Rocha, 65, got lost in the Amazon rainforest for 12 days and survived by eating bees