Hopefully none of us will ever end up in an extreme survival situation but for those that have, they have some incredible stories to tell. We love hearing tales of human ingenuity and the will to survive against all odds so here are some of the most inspiring acts of survival:
- Harrison Okene
The situation that Harrison Okene found himself in is the stuff of nightmares. When the boat he was on capsized and sank off the coast of Nigeria, Harrison was in the toilet. He tried to reach an emergency exit, but the boat began filling with water. Miraculously he found himself inside a 4-foot air bubble. After 3 days, he had all but given up hope when rescue divers found him. He had to spend 2 days in a decompression chamber to recover but it’s amazing he survived at all. It’s no surprise that he vows never to go in the water again.
- Juliane Koepcke
After surviving a plane crash over the Peruvian Rainforest in 1971, Juliane then had to survive the rainforest! With a broken collarbone and the only survivor of the crash, she found a stream and decided to wade downstream with only a small amount of candy in her pocket. A wound on her arm became infested with maggots as she struggled on for nine long days through the forest. Finally, she found a camp and was able to give herself some first aid and poured gasoline on the maggots! She was later discovered by forestry workers and airlifted to hospital. Some equipment from an Outdoor survival store like Angloforro would have been useful.
- Aron Ralston
Most of us have heard the story but you may not know his name. They made a film about his experience called 127 hours. Ralston was climbing alone in Utah when a boulder dislodged and trapped his hand. He had told no one where he was going and had only small amounts of food and water. For three long agonising days he remained trapped before deciding his only course of action was to amputate his hand! Not much was working until on day six he managed to break his radius and ulna with a multitool. He then had to descend a 65-foot wall one-handed to get back to his vehicle. Six hours later he was found by a camping family and rescued by the authorities. He was on the brink of death through blood loss. Today he still enjoys leading outdoor expeditions, climbing and giving motivational speeches.
- The Robertson Family
Back in 1972, one Scottish family spent their life savings on a schooner and set off to travel the world. As the family encountered a pod of killer whales, a couple of hundred miles off the coast of the Galapagos Islands, a hole was punched into the side of the boat leaving them taking on water with only an inflatable raft to sail on and less than a week’s worth of food. The family survived on rainwater and hunting turtles. After more than a fortnight, the raft was no longer sustainable and all they had left was a 10-foot dinghy. Thankfully, they were discovered by Japanese fishermen about 5 weeks after the whale attack.
