Carmelo Flores Laura, 123-year-old Bolivian herder, world’s oldest living person: report
An Aymara indigenous woman collects salt in the world’s largest salt flat in Bolivia.
The world's oldest living person may be a 123-year-old Bolivian herder, according to state records cited by the Associated Press on Wednesday.
Bolivian public records say Carmelo Flores Laura turned 123 in July, the AP said.
If true, this means the native Aymara pushes out the oldest person ever listed in the Guinness World Records, France's 122-year-old Jeanne Calment, as well as the oldest living person, a 115-year-old Japanese woman named Misao Okawa.
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Flores lives in a remote area near Bolivia's Lake Titicaca, and the AP said he cannot read or write, does not speak Spanish "and has no teeth."
That didn't stop him from talking. He says his eyes are starting to fail, but "I saw you coming.”
Indeed, Flores' condition is remarkable for his many years. He has already outlived most of his countrymen. The average life expectancy in Bolivia is a little over 66 years old, according to the CIA's World Factbook.
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