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BBC OS Conversations: Survival

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Survival

23/06/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - BBC OS Conversations, Survival

People share their stories of being lost in jungles and at sea

People share their stories of being lost in jungles and at sea.

Race against time rescue stories have been among the dominating international headlines in the past couple of weeks. There was the missing sub in the Atlantic and before that the incredible survival of the four children who were stranded for six weeks in the Amazon jungle in Colombia.

That got us thinking about those who endure astonishing ordeals and tremendous hardship and yet somehow survive. Host James Reynolds brings together other people who have survived against the odds. 

“I ended up discovering nests of birds and almost every day I found a couple of eggs and that’s basically what I ate,” says Yossi Ghinsberg, who was marooned in the Bolivian Amazon for several weeks. “Sometimes I would find some berries or snails that I could suck but mostly I didn’t eat much.”

For Amanda Eller, who was lost in Maui for 17 days and broke her leg early on, there were times when she feared she was going to die but the experience also offered surprising moments of bliss. “There was definitely a strong sense of hope, faith and connection with myself on a deeper level and a higher power that just came through, the strongest I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

We also hear from Roger Mallinson who survived for three days deep under water in a submersible, while also talking to dolphins, and Steve Callahan, who was adrift at sea for 76 days. He recounts what it was like when he was found.

A co-production between the BBC OS team and Boffin Media.

(Photo: Amanda Eller Credit: Amanda Eller)

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