Found after two days in Plaine-Champagne - Hervé Valère: "I'm a fighter, I ate guavas and drank spring water"
Hervé Valère, 73, who went missing on Saturday while picking guavas in Plaine-Champagne, was found safe on Monday by the police helicopter.
The Valère family felt a sigh of relief. Having been missing since Saturday during a trip to collect Chinese guavas in the forested area of Plaine-Champagne, Hervé Valère was finally located safe and sound on Monday afternoon by members of the Police Helicopter Squadron (PHS).
On Monday in Plaine-Champagne, relatives of the septuagenarian, who were present to follow the search efforts, fluctuated between hope and worry. In their own way, they also tried to support the rescuers. "The helicopter was flying low to try to locate Hervé. I told them to descend a bit more, slowly. They took their time and searched well," said Kursley to Défi Quotidien, who was on the scene.
As hours passed, uncertainty gripped the family. After two days of searching, they began to lose hope on Monday. "Around 1:30 PM, I saw the helicopter leaving, I thought they hadn't found him," added Kursley.
But suddenly, the shouts of soldiers from the Special Mobile Force (SMF) echoed in the area. "A police van came and told us: 'Sir, madam, we have good news. We found him.'"
Two Nights in the Forest
Rescued aboard a police helicopter, Hervé Valère was immediately taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Rose-Belle, where he was placed under observation. Blood tests were conducted, and he was put on an IV drip.
The septuagenarian recounted to his family the harsh conditions in which he survived in the forest of Plaine-Champagne. "He said when he fell into a crater, he stayed there. He ate guavas and drank spring water to survive. At night, he heard wild boars and a sou-souri crying," reported Kursley.
Since Saturday, he had also been trying to attract the attention of rescuers. "He recounted that he was waving, moving leaves, but they didn’t see him. He heard the helicopter coming and also a drone. He knew people were searching for him, but he said it wasn’t easy to get out of there," a relative recounted.
On Monday, Hervé Valère eventually decided to move to try to be spotted. "He said when he heard the helicopter coming again, he thought of himself as a fighter. He climbed higher, grabbed a branch, and shook it. Then the helicopter found him," he continued.
The family of the missing man praised the mobilization of the various units involved in the search: "We thank the SMF, GIPM, and Helicopter Squadron. They didn’t consider time or weather to find him. If there hadn’t been a helicopter, we might not have found him today."
Missing During a Guava Picking
Everything began on Saturday when members of the Valère family, from the village of New-Grove, went to Plaine-Champagne to pick Chinese guavas. As the family was returning to the car, Hervé Valère decided to stay a little longer. "He said he wasn’t going to return now. He would pick a few more guavas to put in his bag," recounted Priscilla, the daughter of the missing man.
Not seeing him return, the family quickly alerted the authorities. This prompted a major operation involving the Special Mobile Force, the Mauritius Police Intervention Group (GIPM), the Police Dog Section, and the Mauritius Fire & Rescue Service.
