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‘Like being reborn’: dramatic rescues that defied the odds
MAE SAI, Thailand, June 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Hundreds of people are working
to rescue 12 children and their football coach who have been trapped for five
days in a flooded cave in Thailand, hoping for their survival against the
odds.
From miners trapped underground, to sailors trapped underwater, here are
some dramatic rescue operations that ended happily despite massive obstacles.
Gramat, France. 1999
On November 22, 1999, rescuers reached seven men who had been trapped in a
cave system in southwest France for 10 days.
The men, all experienced cavers, became trapped in the caves at Vitarelles
when heavy storms caused flooding, cutting them off from the exits.
The unprecedented rescue mission riveted France, with experts drilling
multiple shafts into the rock in a bid to find the men.
They eventually reached them after squeezing into one of the shafts and
following an underground river.
The men had carefully rationed their food and still had enough water and
lighting gas for two days when they were rescued. All were in good health.
Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. 2005
The seven-man crew of a Russian Priz mini-submarine were running out of air
after three days trapped under water when they were finally rescued.
Their submarine became entangled in marine debris on August 4, 2005, and
the Russian crew was powerless to move from the position around 190 metres
(625 feet) below the ocean surface.
The incident immediately drew comparisons with Russia’s Kursk submarine
accident five years earlier, which ended in tragedy with the deaths of all
118 crew . But the Priz crew were rescued after a British undersea robot cut
the vessel free.
Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded medals to the British team who
rescued the submarine crew and Moscow announced it would purchase several of
the type of underwater robots used in the rescue.
Copiapo, Chile. 2010
The plight of 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine 600 metres (2,000 feet)
underground after a rock collapse on August 5, 2010 captured international
headlines.
The men had been virtually given up for dead when a probe sent down through
a narrow borehole struck lucky, 17 days later.
The men had been surviving on dwindling rations, with just 15 cans of tuna
between them, said survivor Franklin Lobos.
“We ate a teaspoon of it every 24 hours, then every 48 hours and finally we
were eating a teaspoon every 72 hours. It was horrible.”
Even after the men were located and supplies were sent to them, it took
weeks before rescuers were finally able to bring the miners to the surface.
In all, their ordeal lasted nearly 70 days.
Ica, Peru. 2012
Nine miners, including a father and son, spent seven days trapped
underground after a cave-in in southern Peru on April 7, 2012.
Rescuers led the men out wrapped in blankets and wearing dark glasses to
protect their eyes after so many days without sunlight.
The rescue operation at the illegal mine was hampered by fears of
additional collapses as rescuers dug through rock and soil.
Huddled in an opening 250 metres (800 feet) underground, the men joked and
exercised to pass the time and stay positive.
“This moment, it’s like being reborn,” said one of the rescued men after a
tearful reunion with his family.
Untersberg, Germany. 2014
More than 700 emergency personnel worked to rescue Johann Westhauser after
he sustained a serious head injury deep inside a German cave system on June
8, 2014.
The 52-year-old was with two other people when a rockfall caused the head
injury. One made the hours-long walk back to the surface to raise the alarm,
while the other stayed with Westhauser.
His injury made it impossible for him to move, and rescue workers and
medical professionals from five countries worked to medically evacuate him
from a spot 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) below ground.
His rescuers battled dangerous conditions and near-freezing temperatures as
they methodically negotiated a treacherous network of tunnels and chambers,
underground lakes and ice-cold waterfalls.
He was eventually hauled out of the cave system on a stretcher 11 days
after being injured, in an operation local officials said had seemed “simply
impossible.”
BSS/AFP/ARS/1627 hrs