Surviving a drastic situation requires innovation, opportunism, luck, and resilience. We may call ourselves survivors, but we have we yet to face what these men and women have gone through? Many of us can say no, but at one point or another we may have to endure circumstances that are similar.

These stories are hair-raising, but each one had a combo of those four.

Stella Marris College Rugby Team – Stranded in the Andes

This story has been immortalized into the movie known as “Alive.” A plane crashed into the Andes Mountains in October 1972 carrying the Uruguayan Stella Marris College rugby team and resulted in the death of 12 people out of the 45 people on board.  Five more passed away the following day due to their injuries, another group on the 8th day, then 8 more in an avalanche on the 17th day. The movie chronicled the lives of the 16 survivors, who struggled through extreme conditions epitomized by their eventual turn to cannibalism. They were only rescued from their 72-day saga when Nando Parrado and Robert Canessa hiked for days and sought help from a passing Chilean horseman.

Aron Ralston – Struck Between a Rock

In his book, “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” Aron Ralston detailed his nightmare when an 800-pound boulder fell on his arm, pinning it to the canyon wall in a remote area in Utah on May 1, 2003. After five days, his food and water was all gone and he had to resort to something drastic, as it was very unlikely for someone to find him. He amputated his arm by sawing it with a blunt pocketknife, rappelled down the 65-foot wall, and was found by hikers on the way to his car.

Rodney Fox  – Ripped to Shred

Rodney Fox, one of the world’s foremost authorities on the great white shark, experienced a harrowing shark attack in December 1963, while spear-fishing near the Adelaide. The great white shark crunched down on his torso, crushed all his ribs on his left side, and cut his fingers on his right hand. He escaped with his lungs, stomach, and ribs exposed as rescuers kept him in his wet suit to prevent his organs from spilling out.

Paul Templer – Surviving the Attack of a Ferocious Bull Hippo

Paul Templer was a tour guide leading tourists in the Zambezi River in Africa when there canoe was almost overturned by a bull hippo, throwing another guide into the dangerous water. As he tried to save his colleague, the huge hippo sprang up and swallowed his head. While he was able to leverage himself out of the hippo’s jaws, the attack was not over as the hippo mauled him several times, ripped his foot, severed his arm, and broke his ribs while tearing holes in his back and chest. He was able to recover after undergoing a seven-hour operation.

The Copiapó Mine Collapse – Surviving a Cave-in for 70 Days

The phrase, ”estamos bien en el refugio los 33” or “We’re alright in the shelter, all 33 of us,” were scrawled on a scrap of red paper taped at the end of the pilot drill written by the Chilean miners, who were buried in a cave-in almost 700 meters deep at Chile’s Copiapó mine on August 5, 2010. The collapsed gold and copper mine had been closed in the past due to poor safety practices. After 70 days, the last miner was pulled up on October 14 after a televised 22-hour rescue.

Yossi Ghinsberg – Lost in the Amazon

In his book,”Lost in the Jungle: A Harrowing True Story of Adventure and Survival,” Yossi Ghinsberg recounted his exploits along with his three companions in the Bolivia Amazon in December 1981. Realizing that they were ill-equipped for the journey and lost in the middle of nowhere, they decided to split up into pairs. While the other pair was never seen again, Ghinsberg and his friend Kevin floated downriver, when their raft was caught on a rack and they were separated. Ghinsberg wandered aimlessly in the harsh environment for 19 days before he was found by Kevin and some local men who helped Kevin search for him.

Julian Koepcke – Surviving Plane Crash

Julian Koepcke was only 17 years old when she became the only passenger who survived out of the 93 passengers and crew on board LANSA flight 508 on December 24, 1971, as the plane was struck by lightning above the Peruvian rain forest. She was blown out of the plane still strapped to her seat and landed two miles down in a dense thicket. With a blinded eye, broken collarbone, and wearing little more than a mini skirt and sandals, she trekked downstream for nine days until she came to a cabin where she cleaned her worm-infested cuts until the occupants arrived.

Douglas Mawson – Surviving the Australian Antarctic Expedition

During the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, Douglas Mawson became the only survivor on his team as his fellow explorer, Lieutenant Ninnis, fell through a crevice with the dogs and supplies during an Australian antarctic expedition in December 1911. His other team member died from a combination of cold, weakness and Hypervitaminosis A after eating a dog’s liver. Mawson continued alone and also fell into a crevasse but was saved only because his sled got wedged above him. He was forced to climb out using the harness that had attached him to it.

Jim and Jennifer Stolpa – Lost in Snow

The television show “Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story” was about a real event that happened to the couple in late December 1992 when they found themselves with their infant son Clayton, 500 miles away from their home in Castro Valley, California, lost and stranded in the wilderness of deep snow in Northern Nevada. As they got stuck in a snowstorm, they struggled with their meager supplies waiting for rescue in a frozen shelter. Jim finally got the courage to take the 50-mile walk alone in the snow to save his family.

Each of these survival situations could have gone horribly wrong, even beyond the immediate circumstances, but for the unique makeup of each person involved.

In each case, the four elements of survival were present although if even one was missing, survival prospects were not good.

What is your favorite survival story? Tell us below and check out more powerful survival stories on List25.

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