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Minister Serge Gelle
Photo: Twitter / Ministère de la Défense Nationale Madagascar
Serge Gelle had been in the police force for more than three decades - until he took over the post of Minister for Police Affairs in Madagascar in August.
According to his colleagues, the now 57-year-old had always kept himself physically fit.
That now helped him achieve a remarkable achievement.
According to the local authorities, Gelle is one of two men who survived a helicopter crash over the sea and then swim to safety.
Both reached the coast near the city of Mahambo separately on Tuesday morning, as the British Guardian reported, citing the AFP news agency.
Both had been in the water for around twelve hours.
Recordings from social media show Gelle exhausted but apparently unharmed in camouflage clothing on a deck chair.
According to his own statements, the minister got away with hypothermia, but without injuries.
His comment on the action: "My time to die has not yet come."
According to the current status, he and a police officer were able to jump out of the helicopter, and the search is still ongoing for two more passengers on the accident machine.
It is still unclear why the helicopter fell over the sea.
Many dead in a shipwreck off the north coast
According to police chief Zafisambatra Ravoavy, Gelle and the other police officer had used the seats of the crashed helicopter to stay on the surface of the water.
“He's always shown strong athletic performance.
And that's what he kept as a minister, ”said Ravoavy.
As it became known, the Minister wanted to observe the scene of a shipwreck from the air.
In the incident off the northeast coast of the island, around 40 people died on Monday, the police said.
The authorities initially assumed 18 fatalities, but later corrected this number upwards.
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