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Lucky Escapes

Blimey O'Reilly!

That is truly amazing, the gods were smiling on them that day.
 
CarlosTheDJ said:
Blimey O'Reilly!

That is truly amazing, the gods were smiling on them that day.

Who taught HIM to drive? :lol:
 
Family escapes minutes before car turns into fireball on the M42
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:09 AM on 4th August 2011

A group of holidaymakers were forced to make a dramatic escape just before their car burst into a fireball in the middle of a busy motorway.
The family abandoned their Renault Scenic in the middle lane of the M42 after smoke started pouring from the bonnet as they sat stuck in a traffic jam.

But just minutes after they dashed to the side of the road, the car was ripped apart by an explosion.
No one was hurt in the blast which happened shortly after 7.40am on the southbound carriageway between junctions 1 and 2 near Blackwell, Worcestershire, on Saturday.
Fire crews tackled the blaze which closed two lanes of the motorway for nine hours causing chaos for holidaymakers.

Sales manager Alan Proudfoot, 53, snapped the astonishing moment the car exploded sending a fireball shooting 100ft into the air.
He said: 'When I first spotted the smoke my initial reaction was that it was a bit of early morning mist.
'But as I got out of my vehicle I realised it was smoke coming from a car. I began taking pictures when all of a sudden it went from practically nothing to a fierce ball of flames. It was shocking how quickly it turned.
'It started popping and then a number of explosions fired pieces of shrapnel across the carriageway.
'Smoke and flames shot 100ft into the air. It was like a bomb had gone off. It looked like something from a Hollywood blockbuster.

'At first people where driving around the car to carry on with their journey but it became so severe all the cars stopped and parked about 100 meters away. No one wanted to go near it.
'The fire brigade came after about five minutes, Luckily no one was hurt and everyone got out of the car ok.
'It was a miracle the family got out safely.'

The fire began at 7.40am as the car sat in congestion caused by an earlier overturned caravan.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1U3ATVKLq
 
Couldn't find a thread dedicated to lucky escapes, so this is it. Unless, someone knows otherwise?


Previously on the Dick van Dyke Show:
Pietro_Mercurios said:
Friendly porpoises save Dick Van Dyke from a watery grave.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/11/dick-van-dyke-porpoises-rescue


Porpoises rescue Dick Van Dyke

Mary Poppins star feared death after apparently falling asleep on his surfboard but friendly sea creatures pushed him to shore

...
Supercalifragilistickexpealidocious! :yeay:
That was three years ago. Well he's had another lucky escape, this time his sports car burst into flames, not Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a Jaguar!
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/20/dick-van-dyke-cheats-death-sports-car-fire

Dick Van Dyke cheats death again after escaping sports car fire

Mary Poppins star who was saved from drowning by porpoises has another lucky escape after his car catches fire on a freeway


theguardian.com, Ben Child. 20 August 2013

Three years after he was rescued by porpoises who noticed he had dozed off aboard his surfboard, legendary US comic Dick Van Dyke has had another lucky escape. The veteran entertainer was yesterday pulled from his sports car by a passer-by after it caught fire on a Californian freeway.

Van Dyke's rescuer, Jason Pennington, told the gossip site TMZ he was driving along route 101 in Calabasas when he noticed a smoke-filled Jaguar which had pulled up to the side of the road. Inside an elderly man - 87-year-old Van Dyke - was struggling to escape.

Helped by two off-duty nurses, Pennington swiftly opened the driver door and pulled the Mary Poppins star from the vehicle as flames tore through its engine. Van Dyke did not require medical attention and was said to be recovering well at home after his wife, Arlene, arrived on the scene to pick him up. The Hollywood Reporter says the actor may not actually have been aware his car was on fire prior to the rescue. Two eastbound lanes of the freeway were closed for a short time, according to local police.

Van Dyke seems to have taken the experience in his stride. He later tweeted a photograph of the burnt out Jag with the caption: "Used Jag for sale REAL CHEAP!!" His wife tweeted: "He's fine thank God!!"

In November 2010 Van Dyke made the headlines after a pod of porpoises pushed him to shore when he fell asleep on his surfboard and woke out of sight of land. The actor's film credits include Bye Bye Birdie, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Dick Tracy, while his TV drama Diagnosis: Murder ran from 1993 to 2001. Van Dyke's most recent role was in comedy Night at the Museum and its 2009 sequel, though his scenes only appeared on the DVD extras package of the second film.
Chim-chiminey chim chim cheree! indeed! What is that chap on? :confused: :lol:
 
If he's not careful he'll be on "Diagnosis:Murder,she wrote." The infamous cross-over show with that other Disney star Angela Lansbury.
 
Off topic I know, but I mentioned this news story to a colleague in the office today and he told me a great wee tale about Chitty Chity Bang Bang. Heather Ripley, who played Dick Van Dyke's daughter, was from Dundee. Her parents ran an Opticians shop and lived three doors down from my colleague. After Heather got the part she travelled to wherever it was filmed with her mother as a chaparone, while her dad stayed at home to run the shop. The mother ended up having an affair with fellow Scot James Robertson Justice, who played Truly Scruptious' father, and decided that she would leave her husband to be with him; it didn't work out but the family split up as a result. For the rest of his life Mr Ripley could not bear to watch the film his daughter starred in and which cost him his wife, so he died in the 1990s without ever seeing it.
 
What a sad story. James Robertson Justice wasn't really Scottish, though, he wanted to be so he pretended for most of his life. Strange chap.
 
Cows fall through roof into Lamorna artist's workshop
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-25030132

Damaged roof

The skylight was left with a gaping hole when the cows crashed through the roof

An artist "miraculously" avoided injury when two cows dropped through the roof of her workshop.

The cows fell through a skylight after breaking through fencing in a field that overlooks the building in Lamorna, Cornwall.

Sue Marshall, 77, was vacuuming in an adjoining kitchen when the cows landed next to a loom where she works.

Both cows, which were unharmed, are thought to have been searching for food on the boundary of the field.

Continue reading the main story

Start Quote

I was worried the rest of the cows could come through too”

Sue Marshall
'Skidding about'
Mrs Marshall said: "I heard a terrific crash. I ran outside thinking a tree had come down.

"Then I noticed a hole in the roof and a cow looking at me through the door.

"It was skidding about on wool and a broken table and skylight."

After herding the cow out of the workshop, the second cow came through, smashing the loom bench where she sits to weave.

"Each one miraculously missed my loom," she said.

Sue Marshall
Sue Marshall could have been sitting at her loom
She looked up at the fence and saw the rest of the herd looking on.

"I was worried the rest of the cows could come through too," she said.

But a neighbour came to her aid and made sure no more came through the fence.

Most of her artwork was saved because it had been sold at an open day.

No injuries
"Goodness knows what would have happened if I had been sitting at the bench," she said.

"I dealt with it quite calmly at the time, but afterwards got quite depressed because of what could have happened."

The farmer who owns the cattle reinforced the fencing outside Mrs Marshall's home the following day.

Talking about the incident in June, Alan Goddard of insurers Cornish Mutual, said: "This very unusual case really does highlight the importance of keeping boundary fences in good condition.

"Fortunately, no one was physically harmed and neither of the cows suffered any injuries.

"Livestock owners are potentially liable through common law and statute for accidents caused by animals straying, so land or animal owners should ensure that all fences are kept in reasonable order at all times."
 
M11 Christmas Eve crash driver has 'incredible escape'

A driver had an "incredible escape" from serious injury after a car was "sliced" in two when it hit a sign on the M11, Essex Fire Service has said.
The vehicle left the road and collided with a large motorway sign at junction 9a near Great Chesterford at about 14:00 GMT on Tuesday.
No-one was trapped in the vehicle when fire crews from Cambridge, Newport and Saffron Walden arrived.
Firefighters gave first aid to two people at the scene.

Nigel Webb, Saffron Walden incident commander, said the impact had "effectively sliced the vehicle in half sending the front of the vehicle into the nearside bushes and the rear half onto the hard shoulder". :shock:
He added that it was "simply an incredible escape for the driver".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-25529589
 
Normally you can tell what vehicle it was before the accident but in this case I'm not so sure - possibly a new-ish Ford Focus?
But yeah, a guardian angel was looking on them.
 
gncxx said:
What a sad story. James Robertson Justice wasn't really Scottish, though, he wanted to be so he pretended for most of his life. Strange chap.

I don't know enough to argue, but I'd read elsewhere that despite needing to 'acquire' his Scottishness his father was born in Aberdeeen - which would adequately qualify many people.
 
Not enough to vote in the independence referendum, mind you.
 
gncxx said:
Not enough to vote in the independence referendum, mind you.
Strangely, actually Scottish residency is a prerequisite of eligibility for such a vote. Rather than just being a whining ex-pat, like myself. One of nieces started making consolatory noises about my not having a vote in the referendum. I haven't lived in Scotland for twenty years and It's unlikely that I'll ever go back there to live. Why should I have a say over those that actually live there?

Still, in the apparently unlikely event that there is a Yes vote, at least I know that, having been born in Scotland, I will still be eligible for a Scottish passport. :)
 
Tell my sister about it, one of her current favourite grumbles is that she's ineligible to vote because she lives in England. Anyway, I don't know if James Robertson Justice ever put his money where his mouth was and moved up here, though there is that amusing footage of him presenting STV's opening night of broadcasting, so it wasn't alien territory for him. Nice to see him in Whisky Galore over the holidays, marvellous character wherever he was from.

I think, er, we're getting a bit off topic, though...
 
Just to stay off topic for a bit, a bloke I knew at University was visiting a couple of years back, and had decided to grow a beard. (More likely hadn't bothered shaving for some months.) He looked disturbingly like James Robertson Justice, which I commented to someone else at the dinner we were at. He had no idea who we were talking about, even when I mentioned Lancelot Spratt, despite being exactly the sort of person who would have watched old English films on the ABC.

Turns out his father was at St Bart's at roughly the same time as Richard Gordon and, more importably, the person that Grimsdyke was based on. As a result, his children were forbidden to ever read any of Richard Gordon's books or watch any of the films based on them. So he had no idea who James Robertson Justice was. (I still find it hard to believe he'd never seen any other films with him in, but there you go.)
 
I think this is now my favourite thread!
 
Man escapes from Gunnislake river plunge van

A man has been taken to hospital after his van crashed through a bridge wall and plunged into a fast-flowing river in Cornwall.
The accident happened at about 09:00 GMT on the New Bridge in Gunnislake.
The van demolished a section of the parapet wall and plunged about 15ft (5m) into the River Tamar.

The 30-year-old escaped from the van and managed to get to safety. He has been taken to Derriford Hospital, but is not thought to be seriously hurt.
The bridge is expected to be closed for a week and diversions have been put in place.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-25997758

This brief report hardy does justice to the story, which I've now seen twice on the local news. Hitting the bridge pararpet could have been dangerous enough. The drop into the river could have been fatal. The van, with a big dent in its roof, was carried several hundred yards downstream, but finished upright, with the fast-flowing water up to the top of the windows! :shock:

That's one lucky man! On TV it said he was driving from Cornwall into Devon - perhaps he had a lucky Cornish Pisky with him!

The New Bridge (which doesn't look very new) appears from the map to be the only bridge in Gunnislake. As that's now closed, it's a case of 'England Cut Off!'
8)

EDIT: The Gunnislake bridge takes the A390 over the river. To the south there is only a railway bridge across the Tamar, at Calstock, until you get to the Tamar Bridge in Saltash. The next bridge north of Gunnislake carries a minor road at Horsebridge. North of that the next bridge is Greystone Bridge, which carries the B3362.
 
From looking at the pictures I think it's more a case of 'shockingly awful driving'. And that being a 'highway maintenance' van it looks like he was just generating some work for himself. Anyways, I'm guessing he was probably texting or talking on his mobile as he obviously wasn't looking at the road.
 
I know that bridge well and have driven over it more times than I can remember, and I can envisage the exact mechanism of that accident.

Approaching the bridge from Cornwall is a very long and extremely steep hill, all 30mph zone, followed by a full 90 degree right turn onto the bridge. New Bridge is indeed an old bridge, and narrow with a single lane of traffic only.

I suggest he either had brake problems or was taking the hill at speed not realising his momentum, either way panicked when he hit the bottom and oversteered the turn to get onto the bridge. He would have had to steer the van through nearly 360 degrees to hit it there from the Cornwall side, and those walls are sturdy so I suggest some force was needed to demolish it. I'll be very surprised if he was going 30.

I would also have assumed coming off that bridge would be a death sentence, let alone into the river the state it's in at the moment. Lucky hardly covers it.
 
I remember that bridge too, and I've only been over it once! The steep hill, narrow bridge, and sharp curves tend to stick in the mind. Especially if you've been driving at speed across the width of England as I had been, mostly on motorways, and are a bit tired and racy. (This was a long time ago). My passenger had to change his underwear, I think. We were visiting a relative of his just into Cornwall - somewhere near Callington, IIRC.
 
rynner2 said:
Man escapes from Gunnislake river plunge van

A man has been taken to hospital after his van crashed through a bridge wall and plunged into a fast-flowing river in Cornwall.
The accident happened at about 09:00 GMT on the New Bridge in Gunnislake.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-25997758
The driver spoke to BBC local news today. It seems he got out of the van, onto its roof, and was able to reach some overhanging tree branches to haul himself to safety. In the pics I saw, there didn't seem to be any branches near enough, but perhaps the van moved again when relieved of his weight.

I expect the story will be on the BBC Cornwall site soon.
 
rynner2 said:
rynner2 said:
Man escapes from Gunnislake river plunge van

A man has been taken to hospital after his van crashed through a bridge wall and plunged into a fast-flowing river in Cornwall.
The accident happened at about 09:00 GMT on the New Bridge in Gunnislake.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-25997758
The driver spoke to BBC local news today.
...
I expect the story will be on the BBC Cornwall site soon.
Here it is:

Cornwall river plunge driver 'thought of sons'

A man whose van crashed through a bridge and plunged into a river in Cornwall has said the thought of his two young sons kept him alive.
Dan Behennah, 30, from Tavistock, Devon, broke his collarbone in the accident near Gunnislake on Saturday.

He climbed on to the van's roof and jumped into the water before swimming to the bank and pulling himself out by grabbing overhanging tree branches.

Mr Behennah believes the van skidded on ice as he drove towards the bridge.
He was on his way to pick up two-year-old Freddie and one-year-old Max when the accident happened.

"I'm just so lucky to be here," he told BBC Spotlight.
"Someone must have been looking down on me that day - a guardian angel or something - but that's one of my lives gone."

Mr Behennah said he knows the Callington to Tavistock road well and has travelled it so many times he "could do it with my eyes closed", but on this occasion the van "slipped", hit the corner of the bridge then ploughed through the wall.
"I knew I was going through, but there was nothing I could do about it," he said.

As the van was about to hit the water, Mr Behennah said he thought he was going to die.
"I remember thinking 'this is it - this is the end', then I had thoughts of the boys and they kept me strong and made me fight because they need me around," he said.

The accident has closed New Bridge for at least a week, leaving drivers with lengthy detours and making Mr Behennah feel like "public enemy number one".
"I'm so sorry everyone has to go the long way round," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26075792
 
Rescue dog rescues dog

Clacton explosion: House explosion dog is found alive

A dog feared dead after a gas explosion flattened two homes earlier this week has been found alive.
The blast happened in Cloes Lane, Clacton, on Wednesday, leaving 10 people injured.
A four-year-old border collie called Cayyad had been feared dead beneath the rubble left by the explosion.

But two days after the explosion, she began barking when she picked up the scent of the black Labrador search and rescue dog called Reqs.
Cayyad has now been taken to a veterinary surgeon for assessment.

A man in his 70s and a woman in her 50s were badly burnt in the fire that followed the initial blast
Both are now in a "stable" condition, Broomfield Hospital said.

A third house was also badly damaged.
An investigation into the exact cause of the explosion is under way.
The fire service said it was "extremely fortunate" that no-one had been killed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-26088539
 
Rescue boy 'close to being swept under Chichester'

A 12-year-old boy who was pulled from a West Sussex river after playing on a raft was in danger of being swept underneath Chichester, rescuers said.
The boy had to be rescued from the River Lavant in Chichester just after 18:00 GMT on Monday, West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said.
He was carried "dangerously close" to the culvert pipe which takes the river under the city, a spokesman said.
The boy was rescued by a fire crew using a system of ladders and ropes.

The 12-year-old was playing on a makeshift raft with two friends when he fell into the river.
He managed to pull himself on to a small brick ledge before being rescued by the fire service.

Kim Taylor from the fire service said: "This young lad had a very lucky escape because this could have been a much more serious incident.
"If he had been swept a few more feet downstream into that culvert pipe then I have no doubt we would be talking about a tragic outcome."
The boy was treated at the scene by paramedics for the effects of the cold and shock and taken to St Richard's Hospital, Chichester as a precaution.

The fire service has warned of the dangers of playing in water, especially as river levels have risen after recent rain.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26240359
 
Shiplake College rowers: Man swept over Thames weir

A man had an "astonishing escape" after being swept over a weir on the River Thames as he tried to help a school rowing team that was in difficulty.
The man had been in a support boat helping the team of eight children from Shiplake College who became stuck on safety chains at Shiplake Weir, Henley.
Fire crews said the support boat was swept under the chains, towards the weir, plunging the man into the water.

The school said all staff and pupils were safe and had been accounted for.
Eyewitnesses said the incident happened at about 16:45 GMT.
A message on the school's website said: "There was an incident this afternoon involving a Shiplake rowing boat on the River Thames. All those involved are safe and well."

It is believed the rowing boat, containing eight teenagers and a coxswain, became pinned up against catch chains about 100m (328ft) from the weir.
A support vessel went to help but was swept underneath the chains and downstream, where the man tried to save himself by clinging to the weir structure.

BBC reporter Nikki Mitchell, who spoke to people at the scene, said the man had "an astonishing narrow escape".
She said: "Fire crews think the boat went through the weir first while he was still clinging on and he eventually tired and was swept through the narrow gap of the weir - through the concrete pillars and metal gates - through the tiny gap in between, into violent white swirling water.
"The incident commander said he has no idea how the man survived this but he did. The weir spat him out, up to the surface again, and he survived with very few injuries
."

Shiplake College boys' school, which charges £6,210 a term, has its own rowing club with pupils learning the sport from the age of 13

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ox ... e-26724714
 
Very Dramatic Video:

Houston fire: Man rescued as burning building falls

A construction worker has been rescued from a burning building in Houston, Texas moments before it collapsed.
Footage recorded by an eyewitness shows the man jumping from floor to floor before climbing onto crane.

...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-26745881
 
'Miracle' US baby survives 11-storey fall

A baby in the US state of Minnesota has survived an 11-storey fall from an apartment balcony, local media report.
Musa Dayib, one, has two arm fractures and is breathing with the help of a ventilator but is expected to live, after slipping through a railing.
His doctor said his youth as well as the softer ground he landed on helped contribute to his survival.

Family and friends in Minneapolis's Somali community say the family is in shock.

"When people found out he survived, no one could believe it," community activist Abdirizak Bihi told the Star-Tribune newspaper.
"I'm more concerned about his dad and his mother," Mr Bihi said. "They're devastated. They can't even speak."

Dr Tina Slusher, who treated Musa, said an adult who fell from that distance would almost certainly be dead.
"Little [children] are more flexible and don't break as easily as we do and he also fell in a very small patch of mulch [loose material put on soil]," she told local broadcaster KARE.
But she added it was "definitely a miracle. It's God's gift to his family. Kids don't fall this far and make it often."

-------------------------------

It is well documented that in such circumstances, a child often has better survival prospects than an adult would. This may be because children are more flexible, their bones less brittle. A smaller body mass may also mean that it is possible for a person [below] to break their fall.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27412909

A Baby is a small animal, so reaches a lower terminal velocity than bigger creatures. (It's been mentioned on this board recently how cats can survive big falls.) But the luck here was landing on soft ground, which would bring the falling speed down to zero without reaching lethal G-forces.
 
I don't know whether this counts as a lucky escape or weird sex :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-28210658

Six women emerge from toilet in train passenger attack


A man who tried to force a train toilet door was left with a broken nose and two black eyes after six women emerged from the cubicle to confront him.

The 54-year-old man was on the Southend Central service at Benfleet in Essex when he was assaulted.

When the door opened six women in mini skirts emerged shouting. One punched and kicked him on to the platform.

He fell on to a second woman on the platform, who responded by punching him, police say.

Why the six women were in the same toilet cubicle is currently unclear, police say.

Sgt Emma Weir said: "As the train stopped at Benfleet, one of the women punched the man in the back of the head and kicked him off the train.

"The man fell into a woman on the platform, who accused him of trying to steal her bag.

"He protested his innocence, but the woman refused to listen and attacked him, punching him in the face before leaving the station."

The man suffered a hairline nose fracture, two black eyes and several bruises and scratches.

The women on the train were in their early 20s, police said.

The woman on the platform is described as having a heavy build and black hair in a bob. She wore a blue T-shirt and carried a grey satchel bag.

The assault happened at about 22:45 BST on Friday.

Ah, the land of my birth :)
 
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