A man rescued from a tree in a rainforest jungle has told how he survived for nearly three months by eating fruit and drinking coconut water.

Sergio Rodrigo Guimaraes Martins, 29, said he suffered a breakdown after walking out of his job in Valenca, eastern Brazil, on 24th March.

He was not found until 5th June, nearly 80 miles away in the jungle in the Salvador rainforest in Bahia, when a search party found him hiding 40 feet up in the tree canopy.

But it took firefighters 36 hours to persuade him to come down.

Bizarre video footage shows him squatting in the branches of a tree as firefighters talk to him.

On the forest floor, a medical centre has been set up with a canopy, a water urn and a tent.

Local media reports say the tree was just inside the boundary of the region's Salvador Airport.

Picture shows Sergio Rodrigo Guimaraes Martins, 29, undated. He said he survived "eating jamelao and drinking coconut water" for four months in Salvador, Brazil. Note: Private photo. (Newsflash/NX)

Martins later claimed he had survived by "eating jamelao and drinking coconut water" during his four months in the rainforest.

Jamelao is a plum-like tropical fruit commonly found in Brazil.

Martins said he had been working in Valenca when he had a bust-up with a co-worker.

Picture shows a rescue attempt of Sergio Rodrigo Guimaraes Martins, 29, undated. He said he survived "eating jamelao and drinking coconut water" for four months after he was rescued in Salvador, Brazil. Note: Private photo. (Newsflash/NX)

After walking out, says Martins, he planned to go home but suffered a breakdown on the way to Salvador Airport.

Sergio explained: "I couldn't catch the plane and I freaked out. I ended up in the woods, up in the tree."

He said that his outburst had frightened people so he had sought refuge in the tree.

Picture shows Sergio Rodrigo Guimaraes Martins, 29, undated. He said he survived "eating jamelao and drinking coconut water" for four months after he was saved in Salvador, Brazil on Jun.05,2025. Note: Private photo. (Newsflash/NX)

At first he talked to his wife on his mobile phone, but then lost it.

Martins said: "I peeled the coconut with my teeth and my nails - look how they are. Then I'd break the coconut and drink the water."

Sergio was taken to the Juliano Moreira Psychiatric Hospital in Narandiba for treatment.

Local media reports say he shattered a window in an ambulance that was taking him there.

(Joseph Golder / newsX)