Life is unpredictably unpredictable, and we can never be certain of a situation. Things may appear normal, but it only takes a millisecond for everything to turn disastrous. And no matter how strong or well-prepared we are, there is always the possibility of ending up in a situation from which there is no way out. Keeping this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of five people who have overcome impossible odds and tragedies.
1. Anna Bagenholm survived the lowest body temperature ever recorded, 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit. She was skiing when she fell into a frozen stream and became stranded for 80 minutes. Despite being declared clinically dead, she recovered completely and now works at the same hospital that saved her life.
Anna Bagenholm was a student at Narvik Hospital pursuing a career as an orthopedic surgeon. After work on May 27th, 1999, she went straight to the nearby Kjolen Mountains to ski. Bagenholm was having a good time with her two colleagues when she lost control of her skis and fell into a frozen stream. Her body was submerged in freezing water after the icy surface cracked.
Her coworkers attempted to pull her out but were unsuccessful. They summoned assistance, but Bagenholm had already been submerged for more than 80 minutes. Her body temperature was 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and she had no heartbeat.
She was rushed to University Hospital. The electrocardiogram showed a straight line with no signs of life, but Dr. Mads Gilbert, the attending physician, refused to declare her dead until she was warm.
She was rushed into surgery, where a team of 100 doctors and nurses worked in shifts for nine hours to save her life. Bagenholm awoke after 35 days on the ventilator, but was paralyzed from the neck down. She regained her mobility and returned to work in October 1999.
2. Anthony Borges, a teen, was shot five times while using his body to close the classroom door. Not only did he save 20 of his classmates, but he also survived the incident and recovered completely.
On February 14th, 2018, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with a semi-automatic rifle. The shooting claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty members and injured another 17. Anthony Borges, 15, was one of the injured students fighting for his life.
Borges shut the classroom door behind him and held it closed with his body. He was shot five times, but he was able to save 20 of his classmates. The bullets ripped through his lungs, legs, and abdomen, leaving him critically injured. The adolescent spent two months in the hospital, underwent 13 operations, and eventually recovered completely.
3. In the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean crashed into some barriers at 137 mph. The crash caused a deadly fire, but Grosjean escaped unharmed.
The incident occurred on the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix on November 29th, 2020. Romain Grosjean, a Haas F1 driver, clipped Daniil Kvyat’s car and crashed headfirst into the barriers at 137 mph. The car was engulfed in flames as a result of what happened next.
The 34-year-old Frenchman was trapped inside the vehicle for 20 seconds before climbing out and reaching safety. He was transported to a nearby hospital and treated for minor burns on his hands and ankle.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but without the FIA’s engineering and safety features, the outcome could have been very different. The “halo safety device,” a titanium bar that surrounds the driver’s head and is connected to the vehicle frame, was one of the prominent safety features that saved Grosjean’s life.
Aside from that, the car was split in half due to a safety feature that splits the vehicle in half after a heavy collision (50Gs in Grossjean’s case) to dissipate the energy.
The incident occurred on the first lap of the Bahrain Grand Prix on November 29th, 2020. Romain Grosjean, a Haas F1 driver, clipped Daniil Kvyat’s car and crashed headfirst into the barriers at 137 mph. The car was engulfed in flames as a result of what happened next.
The 34-year-old Frenchman was trapped inside the vehicle for 20 seconds before climbing out and reaching safety. He was transported to a nearby hospital and treated for minor burns on his hands and ankle.
The cause of the fire is still unknown, but without the FIA’s engineering and safety features, the outcome could have been very different. The “halo safety device,” a titanium bar that surrounds the driver’s head and is connected to the vehicle frame, was one of the prominent safety features that saved Grosjean’s life.
Aside from that, the car was split in half due to a safety feature that splits the vehicle in half after a heavy collision (50Gs in Grossjean’s case) to dissipate the energy.
4. A 15-year-old boy survived a five-and-a-half-hour-long flight in sub-zero temperatures without oxygen in the landing gear of a Boeing 767.
Yahya Abdi, a native of Santa Clara, California, ran away from home on April 20, 2014. He arrived at Mineta San Jose International Airport on his way to see his mother, who was in an Ethiopian refugee camp. Yahya scaled the airport fence and boarded a plane after spending six hours on the premises. He then crawled up to the landing gear of the Hawaii Airlines Boeing 767, where he passed out as the plane took off.
The plane reached a height of 38,000 feet and temperatures as low as -80 degrees Fahrenheit. Surprisingly, the teenager was able to survive at such a high altitude without any oxygen. According to medical experts, the sub-zero temperatures and high altitude induced a state of suspended animation in his body, allowing him to survive the lack of oxygen for more than five hours.
Yahya Abdi was eventually taken to a hospital after the plane touched down in Kahului, Maui, and was found to be completely unharmed.
5. Juliane Koepcke, a 17-year-old girl, was sucked out of an airplane after a bolt of lightning struck it. She fell two miles to the ground and survived in the Amazon Rainforest for 11 days before being rescued by villagers.
On December 23, 1971, Juliane Koepcke was about to graduate. Despite her mother’s plans to fly out on the 19th or 20th of December, she insisted on staying until her graduation day. Her mother agreed to extend her stay and booked LANSA 508 for Christmas Eve because all other flights were fully booked.
The plane was struck by lightning during their flight, which caused it to disintegrate about two miles above the ground. Juliane was strapped to her seat as she fell out, allowing her to survive the impact with only a broken collar bone and cuts on her legs and hands.
She survived on a bag of sweets she found at the crash site and made her way along a stream that led her to a cabin. She was rescued after 11 days alone in the jungle by local fishermen, who brought her back to their village. She was airlifted and taken to a hospital the next day. Juliane was reunited with her father, and after recovering from her injuries, she led rescue teams to the crash site, only to learn that her mother had died in the plane crash.
