Wed 22 December 2021:
Authorities said a Madagascar minister was one of two survivors of a helicopter crash off Madagascar’s northeastern coast Tuesday who swam for nearly 12 hours to shore.
After the crash on Monday, police and port authorities said they were still looking for two other passengers. The cause of the crash was unknown at the time.
According to port authority chief Jean-Edmond Randrianantenaina, both Serge Gelle, the country’s state secretary for police, and a fellow policeman landed separately in the seaside town of Mahambo on Tuesday morning after ejecting themselves from the plane.
In a video post on social media, the 57-year-old Gelle can be seen still wearing his camouflage uniform, lying exhausted on a deck chair.
“My time to die hasn’t come yet,” says the general, adding he is cold but not injured.
♦️Le GDI Serge GELLE, un des passagers de l’hélicoptère accidenté hier a été retrouvé sain et sauf ce matin du côté de Mahambo.
☑️ Les sapeurs sauveteurs de la #4°UPC ont également retrouvé le carcasse de l’hélicoptère au fond de la mer. pic.twitter.com/sP2abwTMwB— Ministère de la Défense Nationale Madagascar (@MDN_Madagascar) December 21, 2021
On Monday morning, he and the others were flying in a helicopter to inspect a shipwreck off the northeastern coast.
Police Chief Zafisambatra Ravoavy announced Tuesday that 39 people had died in the disaster, adding 18 more bodies to the previous toll.
Ravoavy previously told the news agency AFP that Gelle had used a helicopter seat as a flotation device.
“He has always had great stamina in sport, and he’s kept up this rhythm as minister, just like a thirty-year-old,” he said.
“He has nerves of steel.”
After serving in the police for more than 30 years, Gella became minister as a result of a cabinet reshuffle in August.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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