Man Stuck In Deserted Island Survives By Eating Lemon, Charcoal For 5 Days

A castaway man miraculously survived on a deserted island in Brazil by eating two lemons and some charcoal.

Nelson Nedy, 51, drifted out to sea after he fell from a rock at a beach in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 8.

Nedy said he climbed a rock at the Mirador do Roncador beach in Grumari to watch the sea from the vantage point when a huge wave knocked him into the water, and the strong currents washed him miles out to sea, Blick reported.

Nedy failed to make it back to the shore, and ended up on the uninhabited Palmas island, where he was stranded for five days and six nights.

After ending up on the island, Nedy was relieved to discover a temporary shelter, which he believed was built by the local fishermen, as well as two lemons and two bottles of water. The man said he ate the lemons with the peels on. Additionally, Nedy found a blanket in the makeshift tent where he was sheltering.

In an interview with the Brazilian outlet G1, Nedy said despite making frantic attempts to catch people's attention at the mainland coastline, nobody was able to see him. This led to him attempting to swim back to the beach, but he failed as it was impossible to battle the high water current.

Nedy said he made a second rescue attempt, for which he used a piece of styrofoam and plywood as a board, but failed again.

"There was a moment when I just let myself drift. I said to myself, God should do what he wants with me now, he can take me too," Nedy told G1.

Exhausted, the man tried to drink seawater, and even attempted to feed off some charcoal. "But it dried out my mouth even more and got stuck in the tooth," he told the outlet.

The man was rescued Saturday after a jet skier spotted him.

He was then flown in a fire service helicopter to a base in Guaratiba, and was taken to a hospital. The man suffered minor injuries and lacerations on his back. He was discharged from the hospital on the same day, IL Mattino reported.