Man stranded in the forest for days lifted to safety by rescue helicopter

By Fiona Jackson via SWNS

This is the moment a man who had been stranded for two days in a dense forest after falling out his canoe was rescued by helicopter.

Video captured by the Alert helicopter flight crew from Seminole County Sheriff’s Office shows Davidson Anjab, 39, waving a piece of fabric from a clearing in the woods.

Davidson had been separated from his two companions while on a canoe trip in the Alexander Springs area of Altoona, Florida, after their canoe overturned on Sunday (17/4).

The other two men were able to get back into the canoe, but Davidson instead swam back to the shore and called to his friends that he would walk to meet them when they moored up.

However, he never reached them, and they called for help to locate him.

When ground units from Seminole County and Lake County Sheriff’s Offices reached Davidson on Tuesday (19/4) they found he was extremely weak and dehydrated.

Fortunately, the crews, which included a member of the Seminole County Fire Department, were able to lift the man to safety using the copter’s rescue hoist.

The video footage was taken by an officer precariously balanced on the aircraft’s landing gear from over 300ft in the air.

After the helicopter had landed, the rescued man can be seen being taken for assessment at an area hospital by stretcher, after being out in the elements for approximately 40 hours.

Sheriff Grinnell, from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, posted on Facebook: “I would like to thank Sheriff Dennis Lemma and the professional members of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office's Aviation Unit for their help in this rescue mission.

“This is a result of Central Florida law enforcement agencies working together.”

Seminole County Sheriff's Office said via Facebook: “We thank all agencies involved in the rescue and wish the man a very speedy recovery!”