Survival in extreme conditions, such as those faced by the crew of the Simshar, depends on a variety of factors and there is no one formula that can predict how long a person will survive, according to experts contacted by The Times.

On average, a person can go without drinking water for about four days. However, there are various factors that can shorten or prolong this term, a marine casualty investigator said adding there had been cases of people surviving for even 14 days with a few drops of drinking water.

When a person is reported missing at sea the major causes for concern are: whether such person has access to drinking water and how much; fatigue levels affected by whether that person has something to hold on to or a means of shelter; heat exposure, and the possibility of hypothermia.

Although summer waters are relatively warm, the temperature drops at night and could still lead to hypothermia.

The individual's tolerance levels, age, and will to survive also play an important role, the investigator said.

Speaking in general terms, a medical doctor agreed that survival depended on the various factors.

He explained that drinking sea water was the worst thing one could do in such circumstances. Drinking water has a low salt content and, scientifically, the human body contains 0.9 per cent salts. In fact, energy drinks have the same amount of salt in order to replace that lost during perspiration.

Drinking sea water overloads the body with salt, causing the body to work in overdrive to remove it. This results in kidney problems and renal shutdown, which disrupt the metabolic balance if no drinking water is consumed. As a result, the body will not be able to get rid of salts but will continue losing water and health conditions will deteriorate, the medical doctor said.

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