In a small corner of the Shanghai Municipal Public Library, one of the largest in the world with 24 floors and around 60 million books, you can find some works dedicated to incredible survival stories. There is a collection about Poon Lim, a Chinese sailor who survived 133 days adrift in the South Atlantic.
In 1942, three years after the start of World War II, Lim decided to join the British Navy in support of the Allies following the humiliation suffered by his country during the Japanese invasion. He boarded the British ship SS Benlomond, which sailed from Cape Town, South Africa, bound for Paramaribo, Suriname, with a crew of 54 men. Three weeks later, the Benlomond was sighted by the German submarine U-172, which launched two torpedoes, sinking the ship in just two minutes. Lim went under along with most of the crew but managed to resurface and cling to one of the wooden rafts the ship was carrying.
The boat had some provisions, including a water jug, several cans of biscuits, a flashlight, and flares. When these ran out, Lim used the wire from the flashlight and some rope to make a hook to fish, while using the cans to collect rainwater. This is how he survived until three fishermen rescued him after spotting him off the coast of Brazil.
Next to the books about Lim's feat, there is also a work dedicated to the story of the six Chinese survivors of the Titanic sinking in the Atlantic in April 1912. One of them, Fang Lang, was rescued from the icy waters while clinging to a wooden door by the only lifeboat that returned in search of possible survivors. His rescue inspired one of the famous scenes in the award-winning Hollywood movie. However, Fang and the other Chinese survivors, third-class passengers heading to work in the United States, did not have a good ending: upon arriving in New York, they were all deported to China.
Stories like those of Lim and Fang, individuals who cheated death after deadly disasters, always captivate the public. There is a collective fascination with living witnesses of great tragedies. Many movies, books, and reports have been dedicated to the hibakusha, as those who survived the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known. Or to the survivors of the Old Christians Club, the Uruguayan rugby team that was on the plane that crashed in the Andes in 1972.
Many of these survivors then travel the world giving inspirational talks, always in high demand. But rarely is the other side of their story told: the scars many carry for life. "A traumatic disaster leaves between 5% and 20% of survivors with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, requiring intensive therapy," states a study released by the University of Melbourne after conducting dozens of interviews with disaster survivors in Australia and other countries.
Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, plane crash, India, 2025
In an apocalyptic scenario, amidst the chaos of charred bodies entering the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, a wounded man with cuts and burns on his face, chest, and feet lay on a bed in the intensive care unit. Suddenly, some Indian journalists approached and asked if he was one of the passengers of the crashed plane. "My name is Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, I am 40 years old, and I was in seat 11A," he replied. Ramesh, a British national businessman who has been living in London since 2023, was the sole survivor of the tragic plane crash at Ahmedabad airport on June 12, in which 241 people died. The aircraft, flying at a very low altitude, crashed into a medical college residence seconds after takeoff.
Ari Afrizal, Indian Ocean tsunami, 2004
Ari, 21, was working at a construction site in Indonesia when a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami swept him and his friends into the sea. He spent two weeks floating on a bamboo hut, feeding on coconuts he opened with his teeth.
Aron Ralston, trapped in a rock, USA, 2003
In April 2003, 27-year-old athlete Aron Ralston was climbing in the Blue John Canyon in Utah when a 363-kilogram rock fell on him, crushing his right hand and trapping him. After unsuccessfully trying to free part of the rock with his multi-tool knife, Ralston attempted to use a pulley with his climbing rope to pull the rock. It didn't work either. Finally, after six days trapped, he realized that the only way out was to amputate his crushed arm. His story inspired a movie starring James Franco.
Brad Cavanagh and Deborah Scaling, shark attack, USA, 1982
In October 1982, Brad Cavanagh boarded a sailboat aiming to reach Florida. During the journey, the boat encountered a hurricane and capsized. The blood from the wounds of one of the crew members attracted sharks. Four people were devoured while floating in the water. Cavanagh and a woman, Deborah Scaling, managed to get on a lifeboat and spent five days adrift until they were rescued by a Russian cargo ship.
Vesna Vulovic, plane crash, Czech Republic, 1972
Vesna Vulovic, a 22-year-old Serbian flight attendant, made history by surviving the longest fall from an airplane. On January 26, 1972, Vulovic took off from Copenhagen on a Yugoslav Airlines flight to Belgrade. While the plane was flying over what is now the Czech Republic, it suddenly exploded. Rescuers found Vulovic trapped in the fuselage. She spent the next three days in a coma with a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae, and other injuries but survived. Officially, Vulovic fell over 33,000 feet (10,600 meters) and was recognized by the Guinness World Records.
Juliane Koepcke, plane crash, Peru, 1971
On Christmas Eve 1971, 17-year-old German Juliane Koepcke was flying over the Peruvian jungle with her mother when their plane was struck by lightning. The aircraft plummeted from a height of 3,000 meters. She was the only survivor. Alone, injured, and without food, she walked through the jungle for nine days until she was found by a group of Peruvian loggers. "As I fell from the plane, a very fleeting thought crossed my mind: the trees of the dense Peruvian jungle looked like broccoli heads," she recounted after the accident.