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Posted: 07-07-2011 08:34 Post subject:

Dutch tourist found alive 19 days after disappearing on walking holiday in Spain
A woman tourist who went missing for 19 days while on a walking holiday in southern Spain has been found alive at the bottom of a ravine in what rescuers described as “a true miracle”.
By Fiona Govan, Madrid
12:42PM BST 06 Jul 2011

Mary-Anne Goossens, a 48-year-old Dutch mother of two, was discovered by climbers early Wednesday morning nearly three weeks after she set off on a hike during a holiday to Andalusia.
She survived without food or shelter in a ravine near the source of the Chillar river by drinking water from its banks.

Describing herself as “weak and hungry” she amazed rescuers by walking from the helicopter into the emergency unit of the nearby Comarcal de la Axarquia after being airlifted to safety.
The hospital said that all her vital signs were normal but they would keep her in overnight for observation.

The family of the woman, a librarian from the small village of Stramproy in the south of the Netherlands near the Belgian border, had launched a search for her in the area around Nerja, a popular resort on Spain’s southern coast, after they failed to hear from her during the ten day holiday.

They managed to trace her last known movements on the morning of June 17 to the village of Frigiliana, a popular setting off point for excursions into the Sierra Almijara Natural Park.

Details of the missing 19 days are still sketchy but a friend of the family told the Daily Telegraph that she had become lost in the mountains after straying off the path.
”We don’t have all the details yet but it seems that she got lost after spending a day hiking in a beautiful natural area. It got dark very quickly and she kept walking and walking hoping to find a village,” said Niek Jochemus, a family friend from her home in Stramproy.
”She spent a couple of days walking and then became so weak she couldn’t walk anymore and decided it was best to stay near water and hope that someone would find her soon.”

He described the moment that a call came through from Spain confirming Mrs Goossens had been found alive. “I was here at the house with the family when she came on the line and said she was OK and it was the most amazing moment.
”There were goose bumps all over the place and we ran into the garden and jumped around whooping with joy.”

He added that they were looking forward to hearing the details of her ordeal. “We’re very curious to find out exactly what happened out there but we’ll wait till she’s recovered a little.”
He said that it had been a hard two weeks not knowing what had happened to her.
”Obviously we went through various options, that she may have fallen down a cliff and was injured or that she could have been taken by someone with bad intentions. We even considered that she had just disappeared of her own volition to start a new life somewhere but dismissed that as impossible.

”As the days wore on it became harder and harder to believe in a happy ending but we never gave up hope and the news that she has been found alive and well is just incredible,” Mr Jochemus said.

Her ex-husband and two sons boarded a flight to Malaga from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport Wednesday afternoon to be at her bedside.
Speaking just before take-off her son Fritz Horten said: “It’s definitely our mother and she’s OK. We’re totally happy and on our way to see her now.”

A group of three climbers had spotted Mrs Goossens early Wednesday morning while they were walking along the banks of the Chillar river. Unable to rescue her themselves they alerted mountain rescue services who used a helicopter to reach her.
”It was a difficult rescue as she was in a hard to reach area,” said a spokesman from the mountain rescue arm of the Guardia Civil. “That she was in such good shape and could even walk after surviving such an ordeal is a true miracle.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/8620657/Dutch-tourist-found-alive-19-days-after-disappearing-on-walking-holiday-in-Spain.html

Posted: 26-07-2011 09:23 Post subject:

Woman gets trapped down well for 90 minutes
By Laura Harding
Tuesday, 26 July 2011

A 65-year-old woman who cannot swim spent 90 minutes clinging to a rope after falling into a well full of water.
Denise Brooks, of Abbots Morton, Worcestershire, was trying to free a water pump to fill her duck pond when she fell, leaving her up to her neck in water.

Police, fire and ambulance staff were called to Mrs Brooks's home at 3.50pm yesterday.

Her husband Mike said: "After we'd pumped enough water across we tried to pull the pump back up but it got stuck whilst still under the water.
"When it has happened in the past we have lowered a ladder down the well and Denise has climbed down with a pole and prodded the pump until it has come free.
"The well has been here for around 400 years so we aren't exactly sure what is under the water.
"We did exactly the same thing again this time. Denise climbed down with a pole to try and free the pump. The ladder extends about 30 feet down the well but does not reach the water - there was a gap of 8ft to 10ft from the bottom rung to the water.

"As she climbed down, unfortunately, she slipped and fell into the water.
"We always keep a metal grid on top of the well to make sure that no one falls into it.
"You can imagine what we feel about what has happened. I am just so glad that Denise is all right."

Mrs Brooks added: "It was a real shock and very frightening when I hit the water as I was completely submerged. I can't swim but managed to grab on to the rope to keep myself afloat.
"After a few minutes I managed to calm myself down and wedged myself against the wall and felt comfortable but it was really cold.
"Mike tried to pull me up the 8ft so that I could grab the bottom of the ladder but he couldn't manage so went to call 999.
"I was up to my neck in the water and couldn't touch the bottom. I am just glad that the rope was there otherwise I don't know what would have happened - I dread to think.
"I cannot tell you how pleased I was to see a firefighter being lowered down the well coming to rescue me."

Jerry Penn Ashman, senior ambulance officer at West Midlands Ambulance Service, said: "When our staff arrived, Denise was down the well and holding on to a rope. She seemed remarkably calm considering her predicament.
"Given the length of time that she had been in the water, it was no surprise that she was slightly hypothermic. We warmed her up and thankfully she appears to be none the worse for her experience."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/woman-gets-trapped-down-well-for-90-minutes-2326153.html

90 minutes isn't long compared to the days or weeks in some of the stories here, but in cold water it's long enough! The story doesn't say how wide the well is, but it must have been pretty claustrophobic too. I speak with feeling, having spent just 10 minutes on Saturday with my head and shoulders wedged into a MRI scanner! (Happily I didn't have to use the panic button.)

Posted: 26-07-2011 09:40 Post subject:

Posted: 09-09-2011 08:49 Post subject:

Tennessee hunter lost for five days ate worms to survive
Squirrel hunting trip went badly wrong for visitor to Meeman Shelby Forest state park
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 September 2011 22.22 BST

A man who became separated from his friends in dense forest during a squirrel hunting trip in western Tennessee says he ate worms and drank muddy water to survive for five days in the wild before he was found.

Corrections officer Bill Lawrence said he gathered rainwater in his hunting vest and tried to stay calm throughout his ordeal. Authorities said they conducted the longest search in decades in the 13,000-acre Meeman Shelby Forest state park before the man was discovered on Sunday.

Lawrence lost sight of his two hunting companions while chasing a squirrel and became alarmed when his shots were the only ones he could hear, the Commercial Appeal newspaper reported.

After his friends reporting him as missing, searchers used trained dogs, horses, all-terrain vehicles, boats, police vehicles and helicopters as they scoured the thick woods.

Meanwhile, Lawrence kept walking, searching for food and water. "I was drinking muddy water … eating worms. Yeah, I'd seen that on TV. I ate worms."

Lawrence said he had a shotgun, 15 shells, two bottles of water, a flashlight, a can of insect spray, a squirrel call and a can of dipping tobacco, but he did not have a mobile phone to summon help.

He shot his gun whenever he thought he heard someone, but his shells ran out on Saturday.
"Everything was against him from the very beginning," said park manager Steve Smith. Helicopter spotters had difficulty peering into the dense forest canopy and searchers were hampered by extreme heat.

Lawrence eventually reached a road on Sunday, collapsed and was found by passersby. He suffered dehydration and severe insect bites.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/08/tennessee-hunter-ate-worms-to-survive

Posted: 09-09-2011 19:46 Post subject:

I would guess that he didn't catch any squirrels.

Posted: 12-09-2011 08:25 Post subject:

Sole survivor of Bolivian plane crash saved by 'arrow of blood'
The sole survivor of a plane crash in Bolivia stayed alive by eating insects, drinking his own urine and painting an arrow in the ground with his blood to show rescuers where he was, according to an interview published in a Bolivian newspaper.
12:37AM BST 12 Sep 2011

Minor Vidal told the publication La Razon that he survived for 62 hours after the crash by using skills he had learned from the Boy Scouts and while pursuing his loves of camping and fishing. Those actions included filtering water through his clothes so that he could drink it and looking for an open space by a lagoon where he waited for his rescuers.

The 35-year-old pharmaceuticals and cosmetics salesman was travelling on an Aerocon flight from the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz to Trinidad in the Amazon when the plane went down on Tuesday night.
Vidal said he was seated in the back of the plane and found himself trapped amid the wreckage. He was seriously injured in the head and the ribs but remained conscious.

"The plane crashed in the night, there was fire and the smell of gasoline," he said in the interview. "At first when nothing could be seen, I heard shouts, but afterward, everything fell silent. That moment was horrible."
Eight others died in the plane crash.

After crawling out of the wreckage on Wednesday, Vidal said, he drew an arrow with his blood in the ground to indicate the direction he had walked in. He also left his shirt in another spot as a sign for his rescuers.
A navy patrol boat spotted him on Friday on a river bank.

Seasonal fires set by farmers and ranchers had reduced visibility at the time of the crash. Aerocon spokesman Nelson Kinn said the plane's black box has been recuperated and sent to Brazil for analysis.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/bolivia/8756585/Sole-survivor-of-Bolivian-plane-crash-saved-by-arrow-of-blood.html

Posted: 12-09-2011 08:27 Post subject:

Posted: 26-09-2011 09:10 Post subject:

Hiker with broken leg survives for four days in Utah desert
Amos Richards fell in same canyon where climber cut off his arm with pocketknife in 2003, as depicted in 127 Hours
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 25 September 2011 22.09 BST

A hiker from North Carolina crawled for four days across the Utah desert after breaking his leg on a solo hike inspired by a Hollywood film about a man who cut off his own arm after being trapped in the same canyon. [Oh, the irony!]

Amos Wayne Richards, 64, from Concord, North Carolina, is now recovering at home. He said he was inspired to hike Little Blue John Canyon after he saw the Oscar-nominated film 127 Hours, but fell 10ft (three metres) during his trek on 8 September.

Canyonlands national park rangers found Richards four days later. Along with the leg injury, he dislocated his shoulder but was able to work it back into place.
"It took me about three or four minutes to work my shoulder and get it back in place, and once I got it back in place, I stood up and realised my ankle hurt a little bit," Richards told WBTV in Charlotte last week.

Without mobile phone reception and with only two protein bars to eat, Richards began crawling back to his car across the rocky terrain. He filled his water bottles with rain as he painstakingly retraced his steps, eventually dragging himself almost five miles.
"I was actually following my GPS, crawling right on top of my feet prints that I had hiked in on," Richards said.

Rangers first began looking for Richards on 9 September after his camping spot was found unattended, said Denny Ziemann, chief ranger for Canyonlands and Arches national parks. They discovered his car two days later at the trailhead for Little Blue John Canyon, which is part of the Canyonlands remote and rugged Maze District but technically outside park boundaries.

The search was "pretty quick and dirty" once they realised where Richards had gone hiking, Ziemann said. Within hours, a helicopter spotted Richards, who used the flash on his camera to catch the pilot's attention only a couple of miles from his car.

Richards was treated for the shattered leg and dehydration at a hospital in Moab, Utah, before returning to North Carolina to recover.
Ziemann said the result could have been much worse for Richards because he went hiking alone and without telling anybody about his plans.
"We make a lot of rescues of people, but we usually know where they are," Ziemann said. "They were either hiking with somebody and got hurt or if they were hiking alone, they told people where they were going."

In 2003, climber Aron Ralston hiked into the same canyon, also without telling anyone about his plans. He became trapped by a boulder and was forced to cut off his own arm to free himself. Ralston went on to detail his struggles in a book. His story was later adapted into 127 Hours.
[Also see: http://www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=216474#216474 ]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/25/hiker-broken-leg-utah-desert

Posted: 25-11-2011 21:07 Post subject:

Man uses scuba gear to evade Australia bushfire

A man who stayed behind to defend his home from a bushfire in western Australia used scuba-diving equipment to escape the blaze.
While others in the town of Margaret River fled their homes, Peter Fabrici got his wife to safety and then went back to fire-proof his home.

Seeing houses in the distance going up in flames, he donned wet clothing, an oxygen tank and goggles.
When the flames got too close, he jumped into his neighbour's pool.

Before the bushfire arrived, the 53-year-old stuffed rags into gutters and fixed sprinklers on the roof to prepare his house for the flames.
"There were spot fires everywhere, the wind was increasing, the smoke was getting thicker and I basically stayed with the house as long as I could," he told Australian broadcaster Channel 9.

But when the flames approached, he was forced to submerge himself in his neighbour's pool and use the scuba-diving gear.
"It was 3.04 to 3.09, I remember looking at my watch. And just looking up and seeing the red and the black going over the top.
"I stuck my head up at the end of the lap pool, I had a direct view of our house and I was just absolutely amazed. There were no flames coming from it."

Mr Fabrici said his makeshift protective gear had made the difference.
"Without the clear vision and without a clear source of oxygen, there's no way of staying in a situation like that. But as it turned out, it all worked beautifully and the house is still there and I'm still alive."

At least 37 homes were destroyed and some 3,177 hectares (7,850 square miles) burned by the bushfire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15887502

Posted: 05-12-2011 10:52 Post subject:

Alaska man survives being stranded in snow by eating frozen beer
Clifton Vial, an Alaskan man, survived for three days in a snowdrift by eating frozen beer.
12:49AM GMT 05 Dec 2011

Mr Vial, 52, an operator mechanic, was caught in the drift 40 miles outside Nome, Alaska, USA after driving his pickup truck from home to explore how far north a road would take him.

He was unable to dig out of his vehicle and had no mobile phone reception, so wearing nothing but tennis shoes, jeans and a £20 jacket, he climbed into his sleeping back and wrapped a towel round his feet.
"I made an attempt at digging myself out and realised how badly I was stuck," he told the Anchorage Daily News. "I would have been frostbit before I ever got the thing out of there."

Mr Vial's family was away and he realised no one would know he was missing for another day when he failed to show up for work.
Without food, and with temperatures dropping to -17C, he found a few cans of Coors Light beer in his truck that had frozen solid, and ate them like tinned food.
"I cut the lids off and dug it out with a knife," he said.
During the 60 hour ordeal, he said he lost 16lb, and began to hallucinate.

On Tuesday, his employer, Nome Joint Utility System, raised the alarm.
"He's a very punctual employee," said John Handeland, general manager. "By 4 o'clock we figured something was wrong,"

The Fire Department, co-workers and volunteers were mobilised to search the surrounding areas, before they found him. He was due to visit a doctor at the end of last week.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8934810/Alaska-man-survives-being-stranded-in-snow-by-eating-frozen-beer.html

Posted: 01-01-2012 11:00 Post subject:

Race to reach war wounded rowers as they battle across the Atlantic
The challenge to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic was hard enough for the British war veterans, seriously injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has now got a whole lot harder.
By Robert Mendick, Chief reporter
9:00PM GMT 31 Dec 2011

Last night the four men, who have all lost limbs in combat, and two able-bodied crewmates, were adrift in the middle of the ocean with a dwindling supply of drinking water. They have had to stop rowing during the day to conserve their energy and ensure they do not dehydrate in the baking heat.

The race is now on to reach them with fresh water before they run out of their emergency supply in about nine days time. A rescue boat with 300 litres of bottled water on-board is about a week’s sailing away. There is little room for error.

etc...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/8985920/Race-to-reach-war-wounded-rowers-as-they-battle-across-the-Atlantic.html

Wish them luck...

Posted: 06-01-2012 10:53 Post subject:

These stories are usually about people, but this is quite remarkable:

Montana dog found alive four days after avalanche that killed owner
Welsh corgi named Ole returns to Cook City Alpine Motel after search-and-rescue teams believed he had been buried
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 5 January 2012 22.26 GMT

A dog that was feared dead after it was swept away in a weekend avalanche that killed its owner showed up four days later at the Montana motel where its owners had stayed the night before the avalanche struck.

Search-and-rescue team member Bill Whittle said he was "positive" that the Welsh corgi named Ole had been buried in Saturday's avalanche.
"The avalanche guys were up there on Monday investigating and they were looking for the dog, too, and never saw any signs," he said.

But on Wednesday, Ole showed up exhausted and hungry back at the motel, four miles from where the slide occurred, the Billings Gazette reported.
"When I first saw the dog, it was sitting in front of their room staring at the door," Cooke City Alpine Motel owner Robert Weinstein told the Associated Press.

Dave Gaillard of Bozeman, Montana, was skiing with his wife when the avalanche struck near Cooke City, an old mining town just outside Yellowstone National Park.
"His last words to me were: 'Retreat to the trees.' I think he saw what was coming from above that I did not see," Kerry Corcoran Gaillard told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Gaillard's daughter, 11-year-old Marguerite, was putting photos of Ole on poster board as a memorial Wednesday afternoon.
"She found out when she was halfway done with that that Ole was still alive," said Gaillard's stepdaughter, Silver Brelsford.
Whittle drove the dog back to the family in Bozeman.
"He was tired," Brelsford told the AP. "He's doing really well now."

Sidney resident Jody Ray Verhasselt, 46, also died Saturday in another avalanche while snowmobiling north of Cooke City. The two New Year's Eve avalanche deaths have taken a toll on the small mountain community.

"We needed this," Whittle said of Ole's survival. "It kind of cheered everyone up."

Searchers recovered Gaillard's body earlier this week. Family members were preparing for his funeral on Friday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/05/montana-dog-found-alive-ole

Posted: 24-03-2012 08:46 Post subject: Re: Amazing Survival

Posted: 24-03-2012 13:06 Post subject:

Posted: 22-05-2012 08:52 Post subject:

The sub-heading of this story is a bit mangled too!

Man survives Niagara Falls plunge
Police say reasons for man who was seen climbing over a fence beside the falls jumping are as yet unknown
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 22 May 2012 01.08 BST

A man survived a plunge of at least 180ft (55 metres) over Niagara Falls in an apparent suicide attempt on Monday – only the third person known to have lived after going over the falls without a safety device.

Niagara Parks Police said witnesses reported seeing the man climb over a railing up to 30ft (9 metres) out over the Horseshoe Falls at 10.20am local time and "deliberately jump" into the Niagara River. Seriously injured, he surfaced in the lower Niagara River basin near the Journey Behind the Falls observation platform and managed to make it to shore on his own.

"He waded ashore," said platoon chief Dan Orescanin of the Niagara Falls fire department. "He must have gotten swept into an eddy, floated over there and was able to get out on his own.
"That's another stroke of luck," Orescanin said. "If he was in the main current, he would have been swept down river."
Orescanin said the man was conscious and talking at first but got quiet. He appeared to have chest injuries, including broken ribs and a collapsed lung, Orescanin said.

The man was airlifted to Hamilton general hospital with what police initially said were life-threatening injuries. Hospital spokeswoman Agnes Bongers said later that the man was critically injured, but was expected to survive.
Authorities did not release the man's name.

Horseshoe Falls, on the Canadian side of the river, is the tallest of the three main falls, higher than the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.

The man, believed to be in his 30s or 40s, was rescued about two hours later after fire department rescuers rappelled down the steep and rocky gorge and pulled him in a basket back up the cliff.
"It was very difficult. Between the shale and the boulders, and everything is wet and slick. It's slimy," Orescanin said.
About seven rescuers struggled to carry the basket up to a point where it could be lifted with ropes suspended from an aerial truck.
"We had to basically hand-carry him back up, a foot at a time, up the rope," the chief said.

The rescue came weeks before daredevil Nik Wallenda plans to walk over Niagara Falls on a tightrope after convincing United States and Canadian officials to grant an exception to laws prohibiting stunting.

Although several daredevils have survived trips over the falls in barrels or other contraptions, beginning with Annie Edison Taylor in 1901, few have survived unprotected. In 1960, seven-year-old Roger Woodward was swept over the falls wearing a life jacket and survived.

Authorities don't believe Monday's plunge, on a warm and sunny Victoria Day holiday in Canada, was a stunt.
"Based on witness statements and surveillance video, it doesn't appear in any way, shape, or form that this was anything other than a suicide attempt," Niagara Parks police sergeant Chris Gallagher said.

More than 6m cubic feet (0.17m cubic metres) of water go over the brink of the Falls every minute during peak daytime tourist hours, according to the Niagara Parks Commission.
The last person to go over the Falls unaided and survive was a 30-year-old Canadian man in March 2009. In October 2003, Kirk Jones survived his plunge over the falls.

After getting the call on Monday, rescuers didn't immediately know whether the man at the bottom of the gorge had gone over the brink or entered the water at the base.
"When we heard that he had gone over the falls we were shocked," Orescanin said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/22/man-survives-niagara-falls-plunge