We all put ourselves in danger just by stepping outside each day, but some people put themselves through harrowing situations and somehow survived the impossible. The stories of these five people describe instances in which they simply shouldn’t have survived, but they did.
Number Five: Bahia Bakari.
Around 2 a.m. on June 30, 2009, Yemenia Flight 626 tragically crashed into the Indian Ocean while carrying 153 passengers. One of these passengers was 14-year-old Bahia Bakari, who had no life jacket and barely knew how to swim. She was able to use a piece of the plane’s wreckage to stay afloat, and she was found nine hours later.
Number Four: Geary and Susan Whaley.
Geary and Susan Whaley were driving home during tornado season in Oklahoma when they nearly drove into one. Susan was recording the tornado on her phone while Geary drove. The two were sucked out of their car as the tornado picked up the SUV, and Geary was thrown into the tornado. Susan found Geary 50 feet away, still alive, and the two survived.
Number Three: Jaycee Lee Dugard.
One of the most harrowing stories of survival ever told, Jaycee Lee Dugard was waiting for the school bus when she was kidnapped by a man and woman. She was raped, beaten and tortured and even gave birth to two of her abductor’s children at the ages of 14 and 18. A full 18 years later, her abductor brought her to a parole appointment and eventually admitted that he had kidnapped her 18 years ago, and she was returned to safety.
Number Two: Harrison Okene.
Harrison Okene was the cook on a Nigerian tugboat when the boat hit an unfortunate swell and plummeted 100 feet below the ocean’s surface. Okene was in the bathroom at the time and could not get out. He did, however, find an air pocket where he could breathe, and he was able to stay there for three days wearing only boxers and sustaining himself on just one can of coke.
Number One: Michelina Lewandowska.
Michelina Lewandowska survived being buried alive by her then-fiancee. Her fiancee decided he was bored with his relationship and, in an effort to get rid of her, buried her alive with the help of a friend. She was able to use her engagement ring to cut herself loose and dig through four inches of soil to the surface.