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A minister in Madagascar's government has the odds to a helicopter crash and a marathon swim. Serge Gelle, the country's secretary of state for police, to the mainland on Tuesday after the helicopter he was a passenger in into the Indian Ocean off the island's north-east coast. Mr Gelle was one of two passengers to have survived the crash. They both swam for 12 hours to reach the shore. Gelle told reporters that he one of the helicopter's seats as a flotation device. News agencies are that at least 39 people in the disaster. A police spokesperson said rescue workers had 18 bodies. He lamented that the death toll could over the next few days.

Mr Gelle, 57, was in high spirits after his rescue, despite totally exhausted. He managed to up the energy to his ordeal to reporters. He spoke to journalists while slumped in a deck chair and still his camouflage uniform. He said he himself from the aircraft when he knew it was in trouble. He became police chief earlier this year after in the police force for three decades. His colleague a reason as to why he survived the crash. He said: "Gelle has always had great stamina in sport, and he's up this rhythm as minister, just like a 30-year-old. He nerves of steel." Mr Gelle said: "My time to hasn’t come yet." The cause of the crash is currently under investigation.