Nepal Earthquake: Rescued Survivor Says He Drank Urine To Stay Alive

A man rescued nearly 80 hours after the Nepal earthquake told reporters that he drank urine to stay alive during his ordeal. Twenty eight year old Rishi Khanal was rescued by a joint French-Nepali Rescue team from a collapsed apartment block in Kathmandu following the Nepal earthquake, reports Chron. Rishi, who was trapped in a room with three dead bodies said for nearly three days, he did not have any access to food or water and was left with no option but to drink his own urine as a last ditch attempt to survive.

Rishi, who was trapped underneath the rubble since Saturday was finally rescued on Tuesday. He added that the stench of the decomposing bodies of the people beside him had started to become unbearable.

Before the 7.9 magnitude Nepal earthquake struck Rishi was on the second floor of what was a seven-story building. The structure could not withstand the quake and was reduced to a pile of rubble within seconds when the quake struck, The Guardian reports.

Akhilesh Sreshtha, a doctor who is currently treating Rishi said it was sheer will power that saved Rishi from near certain death;

“It seems he survived by sheer willpower,” he said.

According to rescuers, the top floors of the collapsed building remained intact owing to which rescuers had to drill down the entire way to reach Rishi. According to rescuers, they had to shout several times into the collapsed building to check for survivors. After several such attempts, Rishi heard the noises and responded to the rescuers questions. Five hours later, they managed to successfully extricate him from the mangled remains of the collapsed building. In an interview to the Associated Press, Rishi told that the rescuers were able to hear him after he continuously banged on to the rubble to make himself heard. At one point though, he had started to lose hope as his lips cracked and fingernails turned white.

According to doctors treating him, Rishi might have a broken leg. He is currently undergoing treatment and is expected to make a complete recovery.

The devastating 2015 Nepal Earthquake is believed to have killed people in excess of 5,000 as per current estimates. Help is pouring in from various quarters of the world in the form if money and basic necessities. In case you wish to donate to the cause, you might want to take a look at an earlier Inquisitr article that has details on how to donate to the Nepal Earthquake funds set up by various organizations.

[Image Courtesy The Guardian Via Niranjan Shrestha/AP]