In October 2010, viewers around the world held their breath as 33 Chilean miners were rescued after months spent trapped underground. Emerging one by one, each man was reunited with his family while all the world watched. Whether it was the Chilean miners or the unlikely discovery of an Australian mountaineer who survived a night on Mount Everest, some people have surprised us all with their unwavering strength in the face of danger. Look back at nine amazing ways people beat the odds, saving themselves and each other.
On August 5, 2010, a copper mine in the Chilean desert caved in and trapped 33 workers. For 69 days, the men huddled in a small chamber approximately 2,300 feet underground, surviving off food and water sent down through a small access hole. Once a tunnel big enough to fit the men was drilled, each miner was shuttled to the surface in a custom-built capsule and greeted by "Camp Hope," a community of friends and family who had vowed to live in tents around the site until all 33 men were saved. Photo: courtesy of AFP/Getty Images
On January 12, 2010, a catastrophic 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Fifteen days later, rescuers unearthed a miracle: 16-year-old Darlene Etienne, still alive under the rubble of a collapsed home. Trapped for half a month, Etienne was found in a state of deadly dehydration with a broken leg, frail voice and a weak pulse—but was still breathing. The French paramedics who treated her said her survival was medically inexplicable. Photo: courtesy of ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP/ Getty Images
In May 2006, 50-year-old Australian mountaineer Lincoln Hall climbed to the summit of Mount Everest. But on his descent, he experienced altitude sickness, which causes brain swelling and hallucinations due to lack of oxygen. After a failed rescue attempt, Hall was left for dead. Spending the night alone with no extra oxygen or food, Hall was discovered the next day undressed and barely lucid by American guide Daniel Mazur. After calling for help, Mazur and his group stayed with Hall until he was rescued. Hall recorded his experience in the autobiography Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest. Photo: courtesy of Handout / Getty Images
Aron Lee Ralston
In May 2003, experienced adventurer Aron Lee Ralston was exploring canyons in the Moab, Utah, desert, when an 800-pound boulder became dislodged and trapped his right arm. After failed attempts to escape, Ralston rationed his water and videotaped goodbyes to his family. But on the fifth day, a hallucination of a young boy—perhaps his future son—revived his desire to live, he says, leading him to break his own bones before cutting off his arm with a dull knife. On the eight-mile trek back to his jeep, Ralston met a family of hikers who gave him food and called in medical help. Ralston's story was subsequently adapted into the November 2010 movie 127 Hours. Photo: courtesy of George Pimentel / WireImage
While campaigning in southern Colombia in February 2002, 40-year-old presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt was kidnapped by the rebel guerilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). While in captivity, Betancourt was beaten, underfed and nearly died of hepatitis, amongst other abuses. Finally, in 2008, Betancourt and 14 other captives were rescued by the Colombian army, which duped FARC into believing they were members of a nongovernmental organization transporting the hostages to another rebel leader. Following her release, Betancourt wrote Even Silence Has an End: My Six Years of Captivity in the Colombian Jungle. Photo: courtesy of Vallery Jean / Getty Images
Jessica McClure, a.k.a. “Baby Jessica”
In October 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure fell down an 8-inch-wide water well in Midland, Texas. Singing nursery rhymes to keep McClure alert, workers drilled a parallel tunnel and a connecting shaft, through which they were eventually able to rescue her after she’d been trapped for 58 hours, 22 feet below the surface. McClure, who, in 1989, became the subject of the TV movie Everybody's Baby: The Rescue of Jessica McClure, is now a wife and mother. And in March 2011, when she turns 25, she stands to receive an estimated $1 million trust fund, created with money donated at the time by sympathetic onlookers. Photo: courtesy of Barbara Laing / Getty Images
Andes Flight 571 Passengers
In October 1972, a military plane en route from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, crashed in the Argentine Andes. For 72 days, the survivors lived on chocolate and melted snow, eventually resorting to eating dead passengers’ flesh for survival. On December 12, 1972, Roberto Canessa and Fernando Parrado took off through the mountains to find help and, after 10 days, reached civilization, which led to the rescue of the remaining survivors. The book Alive! by Piers Paul Read recounts the story, and a film based on the book was released in 1993.
USS Squalus Submarine Crew
In May 1939, the newest submarine of the American fleet sunk 243 feet to the ocean floor due to flooding. For 39 hours, 33 survivors from the 55-man crew awaited rescue in complete darkness and frigid temperatures at the bottom of the sea. Fortunately, the Squalus was equipped with a "rescue chamber"—an oversize tumbler-like contraption—which divers secured to the submarine exit hatch. Despite stormy seas and several mishaps, all 33 crew members were eventually shuttled to the surface. Their story became the subject of the made-for-TV movie Submerged. Photo: courtesy of U.S. Navy
Town of Nacozari
In the early 1900s, large amounts of dynamite were regularly imported from Arizona to the copper-rich Mexican mining town Nacozari. On November 7, 1907, chief engineer Jesús García, then 26, was transporting cargo—including two train cars full of dynamite—when he noticed one of the cars had caught fire. García ordered everyone off and drove the train away from the 5,000-person town until it eventually exploded in the foothills. The blast, felt 10 miles away, killed García and several other men, but ultimately saved the town. Photo: courtesy of Jupiterimages