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Survival

He Ate Bugs And Drank His Own Urine: How Hiker Survived For 9 Days In The Himalayas

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A hiker endured a grueling fight for survival after going missing for nine days in the Himalayas. He survived by drinking his own urine and eating bugs in order to survive.

Speaking with People, hiker Samuel Vengrinovich detailed how he survived in the Himalayas for so long. He had been hiking with his friend in the mountain range. He ended up leaving base camp without a phone and became separated from the group when fog created whiteout conditions.

"It felt like looking out of an airplane window — we were above the clouds and could no longer see anything below us," Vengrinovich told the outlet. He tried to make his way back to base camp but got stuck after running into cliffs.

"I'm getting stuck," he said. "I'm like, 'Maybe if I hop to that rock, I can see the way down.' So I started hopping."

Unfortunately, he fell 100 feet, breaking his arm, ankle and foot. The injuries left him unable to stand.

"I tried to stand and I screamed in pain," he said. "I was like, 'This is bad.' So I stayed put. I tried screaming for help. Then I realized, 'I am going to sleep here tonight on the edge of this cliff.' "

From there, he began slowly working his way down the mountain in the Himalayas.

Himalayas Survival

"I began working my way down through terrain that transitioned from glaciers to rivers to valleys," he says. "I was essentially following a deep gorge carved out by a river, hoping it would eventually lead me down to the Dharamsala region, where I believed I would find villages or civilization."

Unfortunately, it was very dangerous with no supplies. He ate bugs, gooseberries, and he drank his own urine.

"Due to my injuries, I ended up sliding down the glacier uncontrollably for about 100 meters on my back, barely stopping before slamming into a large rock," he says. "From there, I reached the river and started descending again."

Eventually, he managed to collect rainwater using his jacket.

"I was able to fill up a liter of water in my bottle," he said. "That was when I was like, 'God is with me.' With that bottle of water, I decided, 'Okay, this is my second chance.' "

Eventually, the hiker came across a village in the Himalayas.

"I see three guys at the Indian temple," Vengrinovich says. "I sit down and I start screaming, 'Help me, help me, please help me!' Thank God one of them knew English. We started screaming back and forth. They finally told me, 'Stay there, stay there!'"

The hiker was rescued.