All language subtitles for The UnXplained S04E11 Surviving the Impossible 1080p HULU WEB-DL AAC2 0 H 264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

WILLIAM SHATNER:
Deadly falls
from incredible heights.

Lightning strikes packed
with devastating power.

And lethal brain injuries
that should mean

certain death.

(siren wailing)

How are some people able
to beat the odds

and survive the impossible?

Is it blind luck?

A combination of instinct
and quick thinking?

A combination of instinct
and quick thinking?
Or could it even be...

Or could it even be...

Or could it even be...
divine intervention?

divine intervention?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

♪ ♪

29-year-old engineer Tsutomu
Yamaguchi is walking to work...

...when a blinding flash,

brighter than the Sun,
fills the sky.

He doesn't know it yet,

He doesn't know it yet,
but the world's
first atomic bomb

but the world's
first atomic bomb

has just exploded over the city

has just exploded over the city
with the force
of 15,000 tons of TNT,

with the force
of 15,000 tons of TNT,

creating a massive shockwave...

...that disintegrates everything
in its path.

MICHIO KAKU:
Instinctively, Tsutomu Yamaguchi
raced into a ditch

as an atomic fireball

began to pulverize
almost everything in sight...

...like a gigantic hand
from outer space coming down,

crushing everything,

crushing everything,
blowing all structures away.

blowing all structures away.

SHATNER:
The bomb that exploded
over Hiroshima

was the most destructive force
ever unleashed in history.

80,000 people died instantly,

as temperatures approaching
the surface of the Sun

as temperatures approaching
the surface of the Sun
vaporized their bodies

vaporized their bodies

vaporized their bodies
and bathed the city
in lethal radiation.

and bathed the city
in lethal radiation.

But, astoundingly,

despite being less
than two miles from ground zero,

Mr. Yamaguchi somehow survived.

KAKU:
There is ash
falling from the sky.

And he realizes that his
eardrums have been shattered

and that he was burned

by the enormous amount of heat
that came out of the blast.

He got a thousand times

the dose of radiation
that we experience in one year

simply by walking
on the surface of the Earth.

Anyone who was
in that type of a radius

from, uh, an atomic bomb
would experience

anywhere from 95%
to 98% chance of dying

due to all the different
dimensions of injury

due to all the different
dimensions of injury
that are possible.

that are possible.

SHATNER:
Tsutomu Yamaguchi's survival

of the nuclear devastation
at Hiroshima

is almost impossible to fathom.

But what's
even more unbelievable is that,

But what's
even more unbelievable is that,
just three days later,

just three days later,

just three days later,
on August 9, 1945,

on August 9, 1945,

he did it again.

Yamaguchi is from Nagasaki.

After being atomic bombed,

he wants to go back
to meet his family.

So he gets on a train,

travels 186 miles
from Hiroshima to Nagasaki.

travels 186 miles
from Hiroshima to Nagasaki.
And then, for a second time,

And then, for a second time,

he sees this flash of light

coming from
an atomic detonation--

the Nagasaki bomb.

And there's a repeat
of the tragedy.

SHATNER:
More than 75,000 people
died in the Nagasaki bombing.

Yet, once again,

Tsutomu Yamaguchi walked away

from a deadly nuclear blast
with only minor injuries.

Even more incredibly,

despite being exposed
to a lethal dose of radiation

despite being exposed
to a lethal dose of radiation
for the second time
in three days,

for the second time
in three days,

he lived
an otherwise healthy life

he lived
an otherwise healthy life
before finally dying
at the age of 93.

before finally dying
at the age of 93.

Those two quick doses
of radiation,

within three days of each other,

um, is-is absolutely terrible.

Uh, you would think
it would have...

destroyed his-his body,
his internal organs.

But, somehow,
this man had a system

that was able to withstand it.

And so it shows
that there's a lot more going on

with our bodies,
and they're capable

of a lot more
than we may realize.

It just takes these
extraordinary circumstances

to show us that.

From a medical perspective,

it defies all of the science
that we know.

There has to be another facet,

like his will to live.

And, who knows,
maybe that element of will

that can't be quantified
by science

had something to do with it.

SHATNER:
Tsutomu Yamaguchi's survival
would appear to defy all logic,

which is perhaps why some people
attribute it to fate.

RAMANI DURVASULA:
When we're thinking
about survival,

fate and destiny
are so interesting,

because they're beliefs
that have been held

by societies as long as we've
had, sort of, recorded history.

We can look
at the ancient Greeks,

where a lot of the philosophies
were really about

the gods on Mount Olympus
sort of rolling the dice

and determining the fates
for the lowly humans underneath.

We could look at Hinduism,

where the concept of karma
has often been sort of conflated

with a model of fate.

And I think that makes sense,

given how people who survive
disasters of any kind

and really, by all odds,
should have died,

it's really a miracle

watching them walk out
of these situations.

One of the systems of meaning

that those people will find
themselves in is to say,

that those people will find
themselves in is to say,
"There was a plan for me."

"There was a plan for me."

SHATNER:
Is it really possible
that Tsutomu Yamaguchi

was destined
to withstand the bombings

at Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining another survivor

who overcame impossible odds
not just twice

who overcame impossible odds
not just twice
but an astonishing four times.

but an astonishing four times.

Deep within the bowels
of the luxury liner RMS Titanic,

Arthur John Priest
is shoveling coal

into the vessel's
massive boilers...

...when it strikes
a 400-foot iceberg.

The hull rips open,

and Priest is plunged
into darkness

and Priest is plunged
into darkness
as the boiler room
instantly floods

as the boiler room
instantly floods

with the icy waters
of the North Atlantic.

with the icy waters
of the North Atlantic.
These areas
where Priest was working

These areas
where Priest was working

and the other firemen
are working,

they're below the waterline.

They're the most vulnerable.

(men shouting)

The water's gonna come in
at a very fast rate of flooding.

The chances of survival
are very slim.

COYNE:
Somehow, with the ship damaged,

breaking apart...

...he still managed to get
from below deck and escape.

And, guys in his role,

a lot of 'em didn't get
to make it onto the life rafts.

So, he gets in the water

and survives
28-degree water temperatures,

these ungodly, uh, below
freezing water temperatures.

BARNETTE:
Available information indicates

that Arthur John Priest
swam up to 30 minutes

that Arthur John Priest
swam up to 30 minutes
before safely boarding
a lifeboat.

before safely boarding
a lifeboat.

So, seems like a pretty
remarkable feat to survive,

given the tragic loss of life
involved with the Titanic.

SHATNER:
Surviving the Titanic
is incredible enough.

But what's truly remarkable
about Arthur John Priest

is the fact that,
over the next five years,

he endured three more
catastrophic shipwrecks.

Priest survived four sinkings
between 1912 and 1917.

He not only survived
the Titanic,

but then he was also involved
in the sinking of the Alcantara,

1916.

He next moved on
to the Britannic,

which also sank
in the later part of the year.

His last ship that he served
upon was another hospital ship,

the Donegal...

...which was torpedoed
by a German U-boat

in the English Channel in 1917.

For Mr. Priest to survive
all four of these shipwrecks,

it seems like something
was looking out for him.

Because it definitely defies
the odds.

Luck, serendipity,
whatever it is,

I think our bodies and minds
can take us very, very far,

but, at a certain point,
you just got to...

you really got to hope
for the best.

Are some people destined
to cheat death?

Certain stories
definitely make you wonder

whether it's possible.

However, there are those
who believe

that some stories of survival
are not due to fate

but rather,
the remarkable healing power

of the human body.

SHATNER:
A 25-year-old foreman
named Phineas Gage

is overseeing construction
on a railroad line

from Rutland to Burlington.

Suddenly, an explosive charge

set to blast away rock
detonates without warning.

In the violent eruption,
Phineas Gage is struck

by a three-and-a-half-foot
iron rod.

The 13-pound projectile spears
Gage straight through his head,

entering below his jaw
and exiting

entering below his jaw
and exiting
out the top of his skull.

out the top of his skull.

COYNE:
A nice big chunk of metal

took part of the brain with it
and blew out part of his skull.

His coworkers come up
and they just had

to put him on a horse,
bounce him down the road

and take him not to a hospital
but to a hotel,

'cause that's where
the nearest doctor was.

SHATNER:
But when the doctor

begins his examination,

he is astonished to find
that Phineas Gage

is still alive.

In some ways, Phineas Gage is
a strange story of resilience.

Remarkably, not only did he
survive in the minutes and hours

right after the tamping rod
went through his head,

he was just sort of talking
like he was normal.

COYNE:
999 out of a thousand

other brains
would have just shut down.

But even though
his brain and his skull

was severely damaged,

he never loses consciousness
the whole time.

And he manages to live,

and live a fairly normal
rest of his life.

That's why the curious case
of Phineas Gage is so unique

That's why the curious case
of Phineas Gage is so unique
it's still talked about
to this day.

it's still talked about
to this day.

SHATNER:
By all accounts,

having an iron rod blasted
through one's head

should result in certain death.

So how was it possible that
Phineas Gage not only lived

but remained conscious
through the ordeal?

Well, according
to medical experts,

it may have had something to do

with the brain's
remarkable ability

to rewire itself.

This case was
what started the fascination

with understanding the different
parts of the brain.

It's possible that there was
some matter

It's possible that there was
some matter
that shot out from the brain.

that shot out from the brain.

The interesting part is,

none of the stuff
that was extruded

none of the stuff
that was extruded
was critical enough
to his function

was critical enough
to his function

to stop him from surviving.

DURVASULA:
When Phineas Gage
endured this accident,

it showed us that the brain
is very neuroplastic.

And by that, I mean
the brain does grow back.

So when there's injury,
that neuroplasticity

So when there's injury,
that neuroplasticity
means that the brain
will attempt,

means that the brain
will attempt,

to the best of its ability, to
engage in some form of "repair."

SHATNER:
Is it possible
that Phineas Gage's brain

was somehow able to rewire
itself and keep him alive

after an iron rod
tore through his skull?

Perhaps.

But some medical experts believe
that he was only able to survive

because there was another
factor at work: sheer luck.

And as proof, they point
to the case of a woman

who also suffered
a nearly fatal brain injury.

After a long day's work,
research chemist Andrea Scott

heads to her car to drive home.

But when she approaches
the vehicle...

...three men emerge
from the darkness to rob her.

As Andrea
struggles for her life,

two gunshots
ring out in the night.

two gunshots
ring out in the night.
(gunshots)

(gunshots)

SCOTT:
I remember

being on the ground

and just getting up
off the ground...

...trying to leave that place.

I was shaking,

I was shaking,
I was extremely cold,

I was extremely cold,

I think my whole body
was in a shock.

I think my whole body
was in a shock.
I had no idea that I was shot.

I had no idea that I was shot.

I had no idea
what bad shape I was in.

(siren wailing)

SHATNER:
Paramedics rush Andrea
to the hospital.

Incredibly, she's conscious

and aware of her surroundings
for the entire ride.

It's only after
she arrives at the ER

that Andrea learns
the extent of her injuries.

SCOTT:
When I was in the ER,

doctors told me I was shot twice
to the back of my head.

I remember lots of doctors
and lots of nurses

I remember lots of doctors
and lots of nurses
working really hard
to get me stable.

working really hard
to get me stable.

People did not believe
I would survive.

SHATNER:
Not only did Andrea Scott
survive

being shot in the head twice,
she was able to walk

out of the hospital
after only eight days,

with minor injuries.

But how?

COYNE: There's a lot of amazing
things about Mrs. Scott's story.

The bullets, of course,

after being shot at
point-blank range, in her head,

traveled through the brain
into the neck,

and there are so many
important blood vessels.

Your carotid arteries,
your jugular veins,

the artery that supplies blood
to your brain

that travels up your spine.

All right there,
all within a few inches.

And somehow,
missed all of those.

She did have a lot of healing
to go through.

Part of her face
was paralyzed for a while,

she still gets severe headaches,
but even after all that,

she still gets severe headaches,
but even after all that,
she healed up almost 100%.

she healed up almost 100%.

Extraordinary tale of survival.

SCOTT:
Doctors told my husband

that it was a miracle,

that they don't know
how it's possible

that they don't know
how it's possible
that I didn't end up dead.

that I didn't end up dead.

Statistically,
I shouldn't be alive today.

BROWN:
The chances of surviving
a bullet wound to the brain,

it's less than 0.1%.

We are absolutely talking about
the difference of millimeters.

That's what makes this
truly a remarkable case

that shows we haven't
figured out everything

that shows we haven't
figured out everything
about blows to the brain.

about blows to the brain.

If our brains have the ability
to endure catastrophic injury,

is it possible
that our bodies possess other,

even more extraordinary
survival capabilities?

Perhaps the answer can be found
by examining the story of a man

who was struck by lightning
not once, not twice,

but seven times, and lived.

SHATNER:
Park ranger Roy Sullivan
is driving south

along Skyline Drive
when suddenly,

a bolt of lightning strikes him

through the open window
of his truck.

FRIEDMAN:
Roy Sullivan
was struck by lightning

driving along a mountain road.

He wasn't hurt that much.

He was lucky.

Lightning can cause all kinds
of damage to a person.

It can injure one's nerves,

it can cause headaches
that last, uh,

for many, many months,
if not years.

And of course,
a lightning strike can be fatal.

SHATNER:
The blast burned off Roy's hair

and left a black burn mark
on his ranger hat.

One out of every ten people
struck by lightning dies.

Those who survive often suffer
debilitating, lifelong injuries.

Those who survive often suffer
debilitating, lifelong injuries.
But somehow, Roy Sullivan

But somehow, Roy Sullivan

walked away
relatively unscathed.

Though what's even
more remarkable

Though what's even
more remarkable
is that between 1942 and 1977,

is that between 1942 and 1977,

Roy Sullivan was struck by
lightning on six more occasions

and survived
each and every time.

FRIEDMAN:
Roy Sullivan was in
the Guinness Book of Records

for having been the person who
was hit the most

in his lifetime by lightning.

He was dubbed
the Human Lightning Rod,

He was dubbed
the Human Lightning Rod,
Spark Ranger and Lightning Man.

Spark Ranger and Lightning Man.

There are a number
of factors that increased

Sullivan's odds of being struck.

He was outdoors,

not only on tops of mountains
but on lookout towers,

moving around
a lot in open spaces.

But the fact that
he was hit seven times

and didn't die is incredible.

SHATNER:
Lightning is one of the most
devastating forces on Earth.

A single bolt can carry more
than 100 million volts

of electricity

and is five times hotter
than the surface of the Sun.

So how was Roy Sullivan
able to survive

such destructive power
seven times?

Well, according to some experts,
it might have been because

certain people's bodies
are more resistant

to being electrocuted.

The human body is not
the greatest conductor

for electricity,
but in these cases,

maybe there are compounds
in their bloodstream that do

increase their ability to
generate energy or hold energy.

For example, someone who has

a higher degree of iron
in their bloodstream

could potentially conduct
lightning a little bit better.

SHATNER:
Is it possible that Roy Sullivan

possessed some physical
or genetic trait

that allowed him
to both attract lightning

and withstand
surges of electricity

that could otherwise
kill a normal human?

Perhaps a clue can be found
by examining another person

who was struck by lightning
multiple times

and lived to tell about it.

After a long day of competition,

bull rider Carl Mize
is about to head home

when he grabs the door handle
of his truck

and is instantly hit
by a powerful bolt of lightning.

Right when it happened, I knew
I was struck by lightning.

The-the flash of the light
and the shock, you know,

that went through my arm
and through my body.

It knocked me back four
or five foot on my tail end.

And, uh, I just jumped up
and tried to brush the mud off,

and-and got in my truck
and, uh, left.

SHATNER:
Aside from some achy muscles,

Carl was left uninjured
by the experience.

And like most people,
he wasn't worried about

this happening again, because
he believed the old adage

that "lightning
never strikes twice."

But between 1994 and 2006,

But between 1994 and 2006,
Carl was struck by lightning

Carl was struck by lightning

an astonishing five more times.

MIZE:
For 39 years, I've worked
at the University of Oklahoma

in the electrical department
in the utility shop.

And we take care of all
the high-voltage electricity.

So I often think
there's got to be something

that, you know,
attracts lightning to me,

'cause it's just unheard of
to be struck that many times.

SHATNER:
After each incident,
doctors who examined Carl

were shocked to discover
that his injuries were minor.

None of his internal organs
suffered the kind

of significant damage
normally seen

of significant damage
normally seen
in victims of lightning strikes.

in victims of lightning strikes.

There's not
a whole lot of people

that get struck by lightning,
so doctors

really treat you
as a guinea pig.

They actually had
a man come down

that was an electrical engineer

to measure the DC voltage
in my body.

A common person has
six volts DC to run your body.

Whenever they tested me, I had
1.7, uh, DC volts in my body.

I'm more, uh, conductive
than a-an average person.

And it makes me wonder, and even
the doctors have wondered, too,

could have that
been what's kept me alive?

The notion that some individuals
are born with an X factor

that allows them
to avoid death is fascinating.

But what about stories
of beating the odds

that are beyond
scientific explanation?

For example,
there are cases of people

who fell from
such incredible heights

that their survival seemed
to defy the laws of physics.

SHATNER:
47 stories above the ground,

brothers Alcides
and Edgar Moreno

step onto a hanging platform
to wash windows.

But when they start working...

...disaster strikes.

SHATNER:
Edgar plunges 472 feet
onto a fence, dying instantly.

But as emergency responders
arrive on the scene,

they approach the wreckage
of the scaffolding

and are shocked to discover
that Alcides is still alive.

GLENN ASAEDA:
Mr. Moreno actually fell

with the scaffolding and landed

onto some garbage cans
in the alleyway.

Our rescue paramedics,

they thought that it was
gonna be a recovery.

But when they got to him,

But when they got to him,
he opened his eyes
and took a breath.

he opened his eyes
and took a breath.

SHATNER:
Alcides was rushed
to the hospital for surgery.

Several of his vertebrae
had been crushed,

and his skull was fractured,
causing his brain to swell.

He was given 24 pints of blood

and put into
a drug-induced coma,

undergoing 15 more surgeries.

But on January 24, a mere
seven weeks after his accident,

Alcides was discharged
from the hospital.

COYNE:
Any fall from greater than one
and a half times your own height

is considered
potentially deadly.

So for someone to fall from
this great a height and live,

you know, a productive life
is absolutely fascinating.

SHATNER:
Statistically,
falling from a height

greater than 40 feet
is almost always fatal.

So how did Alcides Moreno
survive a fall

from more than ten times
that high?

HAMILTON:
It's not the falling
that kills you,

it's the stopping.

And so, if there is
a tree, bushes,

wreckage that's between you
and what you hit,

those factors
contribute to survival.

And so, the main factor
that caused Alcides Moreno

to survive is that platform
that he was on.

He held onto that
all the way down.

He didn't fall directly
47 stories

He didn't fall directly
47 stories
without anything
cushioning his fall.

without anything
cushioning his fall.

SHATNER:
Is it possible that being
on top of the platform

broke Alcides Moreno's fall
just enough for him

to withstand a 470-foot plunge?

Perhaps the answer
can be found by examining

Perhaps the answer
can be found by examining
the story of a woman
who survived

the story of a woman
who survived

the highest fall in history.

Six miles over the country
of Czechoslovakia,

JAT Airlines Flight 367

is en route
to Belgrade, Yugoslavia,

when a bomb detonates on board.

There are 28 people on,
including crew and passengers.

There are 28 people on,
including crew and passengers.
(people screaming)

(people screaming)

The plane breaks apart
into three different parts--

the nose, the middle section,
and the tail--

and it falls about 33,000 feet

into a tiny little village
called Srbská Kamenice.

SHATNER:
The plane's wreckage

slams into the ground
at 150 miles per hour.

27 of the 28 people
on the plane die on impact.

But against all odds,

one person survives
the fiery crash:

flight attendant Vesna Vulovic.

COYNE:
When the rescuers come,

the plane is in
all kinds of pieces

all over the mountainside,
but here's her,

in the wreckage, survived,
all ten fingers and toes.

HAMILTON:
She's wedged in the fuselage,
her head is sticking out,

and there is another
dead crew member on top of her.

She has all sorts
of broken bones,

just terrible injuries,
and a lot of bleeding.

She's hospitalized
and she did not wake up, really,

until about three weeks later
when her parents came to visit.

After a while,
she wanted to return to work.

She did not have
a fear of flying.

She had no memory of the crash
or the aftermath.

Essentially, her memory
was greeting passengers

and then seeing her parents
later on in the hospital.

SHATNER:
According to The Guinness Book
of World Records,

Vesna Vulovic plummeted
more than six miles,

making her fall the highest
anyone has survived

making her fall the highest
anyone has survived
in recorded history.

in recorded history.

But what's even
more extraordinary

is that she wasn't
wearing a seat belt

when the plane exploded
at 33,000 feet.

HAMILTON:
Vesna Vulovic
was not in her seat.

It's a surprise, honestly,

that she wasn't
killed immediately

from the explosion
or thrown out of the aircraft

like all of the other passengers
and crew.

COYNE:
Some people say, "Oh, she was
in the back of the plane,

"the angle,
maybe when she hit it went

"the angle,
maybe when she hit it went
like a skier would land, down
at an angle, not all at once."

like a skier would land, down
at an angle, not all at once."

And maybe it did, but it
just seems very extraordinary

that all these things could come
together to have one survivor.

The fact that someone can live
through a fall from 33,000 feet

seems to defy all logic.

But maybe we have to accept
that science

doesn't have all the answers
when it comes to understanding

why some individuals
survive the impossible.

Like the stories
of people who believe

they escaped certain death
with the help of a higher power.

SHATNER:
2,400 feet below ground,

dozens of miners toil
in the sweltering darkness

of the San José copper mine.

Suddenly, the Earth
above them shifts

and dislodges a boulder
the size of a 45-story building.

The massive boulder
comes crashing down,

causing the mine shaft
to collapse,

and blocking the ramp
that leads up to the surface.

ARONSON:
There were 33 men in the mine

ARONSON:
There were 33 men in the mine
at the time of the accident.

at the time of the accident.

On the surface, they knew
that there had been

On the surface, they knew
that there had been
a terrible accident.

a terrible accident.

a terrible accident.
But it was not clear

But it was not clear

what that meant
for the men down below.

ROMERO:
The outside world had no idea

if they were alive or dead.

if they were alive or dead.
People were really on edge,

People were really on edge,

they were watching this
around the world on television.

It's really something
that-that people

were following
very, very closely.

SHATNER:
Search and rescue teams

quickly began to drill
into the rock

to try and free the miners,
but progress was slow.

For days, the world watched
in suspense

as rescuers desperately
continued

to drill in search
of the miners.

ROMERO:
There was a lot of concern

about their individual
health conditions.

One of these guys had
an ulcer that was really bad.

One of them was a diabetic.

So there were really
desperate efforts

on the part of the Chilean
authorities to find them.

ARONSON:
It was nearly impossible
to find the men,

because nobody can see
through the Earth.

And the maps were outdated.

And that meant,
as one of the drillers said,

"We're drilling blind."

Finally, after 17 long days,

one of the rescuers' drills
uncovered evidence that,

incredibly, the miners
were still alive.

The miners
had found some red paint

so that when the drill
came down through,

they could paint
on the drill to show

that "We are alive."

ROMERO:
In the drill,
they sent a note out

that said in Spanish,

"Estamos bien en el refugio,
los 33."

"We are okay in the refuge,
the 33 of us."

"We are okay in the refuge,
the 33 of us."
(cheering)

(cheering)

And that really
just changed everything.

SHATNER:
Rescuers sent down
small packages

of desperately needed supplies
through the narrow hole

leading to the miners.

They also sent down

They also sent down
a small digital camera.

a small digital camera.

The video paints
a harrowing portrait

of the conditions the miners
had been trapped in

for the previous 17 days.

Somehow, the men had survived
on only a week's worth

of food and water.

ROMERO:
These miners were trapped
almost half a mile underground,

with a few cans of tuna fish.

They had to resort
to drinking water

that was used
for industrial purposes.

Also, they created a-a system

in which they had
a democratic vote,

you know, one man, one vote.

And the majority,
if they decided on something,

that was the way
that they were gonna go.

(speaking Spanish)

DURVASULA:
Without knowing it,
the Chilean miners

walked into one
of the most important

survival strategies there is,
which is

creating a sense
of collectivism,

and leaving each of them
feeling less alone

with this nightmare
that they were in.

SHATNER:
After discovering
the miners were alive,

rescuers estimated
that it would take months

to drill through half
a mile of solid rock

to drill through half
a mile of solid rock
and reach the trapped men.

and reach the trapped men.

So here you are now,
August 20, August 22,

and the drill operators said
to the team up on top,

"We will be able to get
them out by Christmas."

So, you are going to have
to tell the men

that you're going
to have to be down

in that mine

for three more months.

To combat their feelings
of helplessness,

the trapped miners turned
to their last remaining refuge:

their faith.

ROMERO:
One of the things
that really struck me

about why they were able
to make it, uh, for so long,

about why they were able
to make it, uh, for so long,
was their religious beliefs.

was their religious beliefs.

They really felt like prayer
was one of their strategies

They really felt like prayer
was one of their strategies
to help them
make it through this.

to help them
make it through this.

BROWN:
Literature documents

that faith is a significant
factor in survivability.

Sometimes it's individual faith,

sometimes it is faith
of a community.

sometimes it is faith
of a community.
The hard part is,
there is no science

The hard part is,
there is no science

that we have
that absolutely defines it,

but faith has real tangible
results for many people.

DURVASULA:
For the Chilean miners,

many of them were men of faith

as part of
their day-to-day lives.

So praying together,
having that collective energy,

was just enough hope to keep
a person going for another day.

SHATNER:
After 69 days,

the rescuers finally created

a hole big enough
to extract the miners.

Then, as the world waited
with bated breath...

Then, as the world waited
with bated breath...
(cheering, applause)

(cheering, applause)

...the men were
brought up one by one.

And astonishingly,

all 33 miners made it out alive.

(cheering, laughter)

But perhaps
what's even more incredible

is that they were
rescued two months sooner

than everyone expected.

And the miners firmly believed

And the miners firmly believed
that this unexpected
turn of events

that this unexpected
turn of events

showed that a higher power
had intervened on their behalf.

ROMERO:
The power of prayer
played a crucial role

in allowing these 33 miners
to make it.

It's even been said
that God was the 34th miner.

Um, several of the men who were
trapped down there said that.

They really felt
like their belief in God

They really felt
like their belief in God
was why they were rescued.

was why they were rescued.

When faced with
a life-or-death scenario,

some people choose
to appeal to a higher power

to help them survive.

But there are others
who react much differently.

When pushed to the limit,
they tap into abilities

they didn't even know they had.

SHATNER:
Here, in this protected reserve

in the shadow of Mount Kilauea,

tech industry executive
Dewey Gaedcke

heads out for an evening hike.

But as he walks through
the 523-square-mile park,

he becomes lost.

And when he's unable
to find the road

And when he's unable
to find the road
where he parked his car,

where he parked his car,

Dewey's hike transforms into
a grueling fight for survival.

Clouds came over
and covered up the moon,

so it got darker,
it got windier...

...and I completely
missed the road.

And that's what
really messed me up.

And that's what
really messed me up.
I expected only
an hour and a half hike,

I expected only
an hour and a half hike,

so I really wasn't
well prepared.

so I really wasn't
well prepared.
I brought a flashlight,

I brought a flashlight,

a digital video camera,
tennis shoes, and that was it.

SHATNER: Miles from his car
and hopelessly lost

within a 330,000-acre maze
of razor-sharp lava rocks,

Dewey quickly realizes
that if he's to have

any hope of rescue,

he first needs
to keep himself alive.

GAEDCKE:
I was exhausted, I was stressed,

I had a cut that looked like
it might be getting infected.

So I was worried about gangrene.

I hadn't brought water, uh,
so I was already starting

to get a little bit dehydrated
after being out there that long.

to get a little bit dehydrated
after being out there that long.
I walked all night.

I walked all night.

Well, it's some very late hour.

Well, it's some very late hour.
I'm dehydrated and I'm lost.

I'm dehydrated and I'm lost.

I'm not a survival expert,

but I've always been
insanely curious,

and friends have called me
MacGyver since high school.

and friends have called me
MacGyver since high school.
I'm good at studying things,

I'm good at studying things,

and, uh, I'm good
at figuring out

how different pieces
can be used together.

In the morning,
I built a debris shelter,

so I-I had something
to sleep in at night.

And I had built rain catches,

so I'd woken up with
plenty of fresh water.

I talked to my camera every day,
leaving messages for my kids.

I talked to my camera every day,
leaving messages for my kids.
I just want to say
to my little girls,

I just want to say
to my little girls,

I love you guys so much.

And I'm doing my best
to get home to see you.

My primary hope of getting
rescued was from the sky,

so I had already
broken the mirror off

of my video camera and was using
that to try to reflect the sun

to signal that
I'm in an emergency.

At that point,
I was actually starting

to feel fairly confident I was
very likely to get rescued.

And then I heard a helicopter.

SHATNER:
On his fifth day
of being stranded and alone,

a commercial tour helicopter
found and rescued Dewey.

After his rescue, local
officials informed Dewey

that no one had ever survived

more than three days
lost in the park.

So, how did a tech
industry executive

with no survival experience
manage to endure five?

Well, according to experts,
it was primarily

because of Dewey's ability
to remain calm

and focus on solutions
in the face of adversity.

Well, I just finished my, uh,
second-generation rain catch.

DURVASULA:
When a person is in
a survival situation,

one of the questions
is whether a person is able

to tap into something
in their mind

that they didn't know they had.

that they didn't know they had.
There are people who have a mix

There are people who have a mix

of resilience,
adaptability, knowledge,

an ability to sort of center
and stay calm and focused.

COYNE:
Some of the more
common attributes

of survivors
is people that don't focus

on all the terrible things
that are going on around them.

They automatically assume
everything's gonna be okay.

GAEDCKE:
There were multiple times
where I was scared,

but I don't believe
I ever panicked.

In retrospect, looking back,

I can really see how impactful
it was and how necessary it was.

So this experience taught me
that not only

could I function well,
I could actually use

my emotions
to serve me under pressure.

And I didn't know
I was capable of that.

Are we fascinated by stories
of individuals

who cheat death because
we believe, or maybe we hope,

that we could survive
under similar circumstances?

Of course,
the only way to find out

is to actually be thrust into
a perilous situation ourselves.

So, perhaps it's better for us
that the reason

why some people
live through the impossible

why some people
live through the impossible
remains... unexplained.

remains... unexplained.

remains... unexplained.
CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY
A+E NETWORKS