This archive report was first published on 21 December 2021.
On December 20, 2021, a helicopter carrying Madagascar's Secretary of State for Police, Serge Gelle, and several others crashed off the island's northeastern coast, sparking a search and rescue operation.
According to authorities, Gelle and a fellow policeman, who were among the passengers, managed to eject themselves from the aircraft and swim to shore, with Gelle reaching land in the seaside town of Mahambo around 12 hours after the crash.
"My time to die hasn't come yet," Gelle said in a video shared on social media, adding that he was cold but not injured.
As part of a cabinet reshuffle in August 2021, Gelle had taken on the role of Secretary of State for Police after serving in the police for three decades.
The helicopter was on its way to inspect the site of a shipwreck off the northeastern coast, where at least 21 people had died and around 60 gone missing, according to the latest official toll.
"He has always had great stamina in sport, and he's kept up this rhythm as minister, just like a thirty-year-old," said Zafisambatra Ravoavy, another police general, praising Gelle's endurance.
