Man Spends 3 Days in Tree During Vietnam Storm

The 69-year-old watchman couldn't swim so when Tropical Storm Mirinae sparked a flash flood he ran, shimmied up a tree and hung on — for three nights and two days.

Rescue workers pull a boat through flooded waters in Binh Dinh province, in south central coast, in...

Rescue workers pull a boat through flooded waters in Binh Dinh province, in south central coast, in Vietnam, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009.The death toll from Tropical Storm Mirinae rose to 87 in Vietnam on Wednesday as authorities stepped up rescue and relief operations in affected areas of the central region.

(Viet Y/Vietnam News Agency/AP Photo)

After several failed attempts to rescue Phan Cao Chuc, a military helicopter was able to reach him Thursday by lowering a cable with a soldier down to grab him and save him from a disaster that has killed at least 108 people in central Vietnam.

But the rescue wasn't without drama. The first cable snapped, tossing the soldier into the 16-foot (5-meter) waters still raging waters below. He managed to swim to safety, but Chuc was now spooked and clung even tighter to the tree. Only after another cable was shot into the tree by a spear, was another soldier finally able to reach him.

"The man initially refused to go, fearing he could be dropped into the river," said Lt. Nguyen Duc Vinh. "It took me 20 minutes to persuade him that it was safe to go with me."

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Chuc survived by lodging himself between two branches and catching rainwater in his construction helmet. Soldiers on the ground could not reach him, but on Wednesday managed to at least deliver biscuits, milk and a mobile phone to him through a pulley system anchored to the tree. They then called him and offered calming words of encouragement.

"It's a miracle that this old man survived on rain water for two days and three nights in the tree," Vinh said by telephone from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Chuc worked as a guard at a hydroelectric plant that's under construction in Gia Lai province in the Central Highlands, where five people died from the flooding. Despite rising floodwaters, he stayed to stand watch over the equipment. But when the swollen river suddenly jumped its banks, Chuc and a colleague were trapped. The other man, who could swim, managed to reach dry land. He then sought help for Chuc.

The storm smacked ashore Monday and its death toll was at 108 in central Vietnam by Friday.