They’re still standing! Five survival stories of incredible humans who beat the odds

We’re taking a look at the most amazing survival stories that prove human endurance has no limits. Meet the individuals who lived to tell the tale after finding themselves in the most unbelievable predicaments.

And they all have something in common – their incredible feats earned them a place in history and a Guinness World Records title. 

To bee or not to bee? The man who fought against the swarm, and won 

Have you ever felt the painful sting of a bee, only to spend the rest of the day smelling of a fish and chip shop, using vinegar to soothe the pain? It is a feeling that this heroic dog owner knows too well, 2,000 times over. 

On 28 January 1962, Johannes Relleke (Netherlands) managed to accidentally break a Guinness World Records title for the most bee stings survived when he attempted to save his pet from danger. 

Johannes was stationed at a tin mine in Rhodesia, which is now Zimbabwe, when his unintentional record-breaking race for survival occurred. He was out walking his dog near the mines, and the next thing they knew, a terrifying amount of huge African killer bees began to attack them.  

Image credit: Photo by Damien TUPINIER on Unsplash

With a total of 2,443 stings on his body, Johannes’s suffering did not end there. He and his pet attempted to get away as quickly as they could by throwing themselves into the Gwaii River, and all was well, until a crocodile came along and snatched his dog while Johannes was concentrating on keeping its head above water and evading the bees.

Johannes managed to get to the bank, where doctors checked him over, discovering the 2,443 stings, which he amazingly managed to survive. He managed to survive double the number of stings that the average adult is supposed to be able to withstand. 

Johannes’s miracle survival story makes him a hero for his effort to save his dog, but sadly, it was the dog who did not make it out alive. 

Lightning never strikes twice… or does it?

Do you want to hear a striking fact? If you lived for 80 years, your chance of being struck by lightning would be 1 in 10,000, so it’s quite rare, isn't it? Well, one former park ranger was struck seven times in 35 years, and became the Guinness World Records title holder for most lightning strikes survived. 

In April 1942, Roy C. Sullivan (USA) was working at Shenandoah National Park in Virginia during a storm when, during his shift, a watchtower was struck by lightning, causing it to burst into flames. Roy ran from the blaze, and during his escape a bolt of lightning struck his right leg, leaving him with burn marks and a nail-less big toe. 

After that, he became known as the “Spark Ranger”.  

Roy C. Sullivan

His second encounter with a sizzling sky bolt was in July 1969 when he was simply just driving his truck, then BOOM, a strike hit the vehicle and he was left unconscious, his eyebrows were singed, and his wristwatch was completely damaged. 

Third time lucky? Nope. July 1970 saw him be hit by lightning in the comfort of his garden, leaving him with a seared left shoulder, and very soon after, in April 1972, he was in a guardhouse at work when a strike of lightning caused his hair to be set on fire. 

Once again, in August 1973, Roy’s survival of unfortunate events continued as his hair was set on fire again and his legs were injured when he was driving, again!

His sixth strike came in June 1976 when he was out on walk, leaving him once again with burned hair and an ankle injury. The very final instance of Roy’s bad luck was in June 1977 when he was on a fishing trip, in his boat, he was struck and burned his stomach and chest.

Seven scary strikes completed, and Roy had six years with no more encounters with the electricity-fuelled flashes before he passed away in 1983, aged 71. 

Read more stories about amazing people in our Human Body section.

The slope of hope: the skier who fell, and lived to tell the tale 

At the 1997 World Extreme Skiing Championships that were held in Valdez, Alaska, Bridget Mead (New Zealand) managed to gain a Guinness World Records title for her astonishing ski jump. She is still the record holder of the farthest vertical ski fall survived, and doctors believe this is due to her physical health being very good and the fact that she was wearing a helmet when she jumped into the record books. 

Bridget’s jump measured an incredible distance of almost 400 m (1,312.8 ft), which is roughly the height of a super tall skyscraper! 

Despite a jump of that distance, she managed to keep herself mostly intact, with no broken bones, only some bruising and a severe concussion. 

Skyfall: The record-breaking fall with no strings attached 

If you have a fear of flying, this one’s probably not for you!

Vesna Vulović (Yugoslavia) was born on 3 January 1950 and remains in history as the woman who holds the Guinness World Records title for the highest fall survived without parachute.

Vesna was a flight attendant on board the JAT Yugoslav Airlines Flight 367 when the aircraft exploded into three pieces as they travelled over Czechoslovakia, now called Czechia. Only 46 minutes into the flight, the plane exploded, which is thought to have happened due to a briefcase bomb in the luggage compartment.

Due to a drop in cabin pressure, all the passengers and other crew members were sucked into the freezing cold atmosphere and fell to their deaths, but one person managed to stay on the plane: Vesna. Her body was pinned down by a food trolley in the main body of the aircraft, which is thought to be the main factor of her survival.

Once the plane eventually made it to the ground, a former WW2 medic discovered Vesna screaming in the cabin, and he administered first aid until more help arrived. 

Once she made it to the hospital, doctors discovered a long list of injuries, including a fractured skull and three broken vertebrae. She was temporarily paralysed from the waist down; she was in a coma for 27 days and remained in hospital for 16 months. 

Although she survived the fall from 10,160 m (33,333 ft), which is taller than Mount Everest, she had no memory of the crash. She later passed away in December 2016 at the age of 66. 

Strength in numbers: the mother who welcomed nine surviving babies 

It’s probably quite likely that you’ve met twins, or maybe even triplets at a push, but have you ever heard of nonuplets? That’s nine children, and this is the incredible story of how they were brought into the world. 

On 30 March 2021, pregnant Halima Cisse (Mali) was flown to a clinic Ain Borja in Casablanca, Morocco, by the Mali government for specialist care.

Doctors originally thought she was having seven babies, but it was discovered that she was actually due to give birth to nine. 

Halima had a Caesarean section on 4 May 2021, and at 30 weeks, she had prematurely given birth to nine children: five girls (Adama, Hawa, Fatouma, Kadida, and Oumou) and four boys (Bah, Elhadji, Mohammed VI, and Oumar). 

The nonuplets with their parents

The newborns spent time in incubators and were in the clinic for a long time, and they eventually returned to Mali, their home country, in December 2022, a year and a half after their birth. 

The amazing Cisse family hold the Guinness World Records title for the most children delivered at a single birth to survive.

The children, still thriving, are now four and a half years old. 

Well, there you have it, these five amazing stories show us that life really is worth living and teach us not to take anything for granted. From being stung over 2,000 times to having nine babies, these individuals really are Officially Amazing.