Top 10 Near Death Experiences Caught on Camera
#10: Incoming Avalanche
In this clip, hiker Harry Shimmin is met with a terrifying sight - that of a massive cloud of white barreling down the mountain toward him. Simmin was walking through Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan mountains with a larger group when he peeled off solo. Soon, he was hit by an approaching avalanche. It begins at the very peak of the mountain but is startlingly quick to reach him. He decided to film the approach, as he believed that he was at a safe distance. He was wrong. Shimmin ducked down into a small hole as the snow rushed by, and struggled to get air for several seconds. Luckily, he and everyone else on the trek made it through the incident without major injuries.
#9: “Caving in Cascade”
On December 5, 2015, spelunker Andrew Munoz and some friends visited a cave system on Vancouver Island called Cascade. Their harrowing ordeal was captured on camera and released as the short documentary “Caving in Cascade: A Story of Survival.” At one point, explorer Jason Storie gets trapped in a confined passage filled with freezing water, and his body remains submerged for nearly half an hour. Once he was freed, Munoz realized that Storie was in a deep state of hypothermia. They also couldn’t escape the cave owing to the high levels of water and its strong pressure. Luckily, the water receded early the next morning, and this brief window allowed them to make it out by themselves.
#8: Hazardous Substance
Fentanyl was the deadliest drug of 2021 in terms of overdoses and is a leading synthetic in the opioid epidemic. On July 3, 2021, police trainee David Faiivae of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department was at the site of a drug arrest. There has been some debate over what happened next, as just handling fentanyl cannot lead to an overdose. But while retrieving a bag from his evidence kit, Faiivae placed his face close to where he’d been testing bags of fentanyl and methamphetamine. In the video, he goes rigid and collapses to the ground. His training officer, Scott Crane, quickly grabs some nearby packets of naloxone, which is used to offset the drug and save peoples’ lives. Fortunately, Faiivae survived, but it is a disturbing video nonetheless.
#7: Sucked Into Storm Drain
It’s scary just how fast things can go awry. This video was shot in Brazil and depicts a small group of people attempting to clear a storm drain. A young boy is suddenly grabbed by the strong current and sucked under the water, followed almost immediately by his uncle. The others scramble to help them, and the aunt filming the video can be heard panicking and screaming in fear. Things could’ve ended poorly, but thankfully, the storm drain quickly spits them out about twenty feet away. The boy clearly had the ride of his life, as he raises his arms in victory.
#6: Inches from Death
This man from India was quite literally inches from death. In some terrifying footage captured by a nearby camera, he can be seen riding his motorcycle onto an active train track. Soon, he notices that a speeding train is barreling directly at him, and he both slams on the brakes and climbs off the motorcycle. The reaction was perfectly timed, as the train shatters his bike almost the second he gets off it. Debris goes flying, and the man scrambles away from immediate danger. Though he probably got the fright of his life, he was physically unharmed and was able to walk away from the scene.
#5: Collapsing Onto Subway Tracks
A video from April of 2022 shows a man walking in Sydney’s Redfern station when he falls onto the tracks. He hits the ground hard and reportedly loses consciousness. Some onlookers act fast and jump onto the active tracks in an attempt to save him. To make matters even worse, the train is scheduled to arrive at any minute, so serious trouble is looming. Luckily, staff members waving red flags are able to alert the incoming vehicle. It gets pretty close, but manages to stop in the nick of time, just far away enough to avoid hurting anyone.
#4: Going Through Ice
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Frozen bodies of water are no joke. On a February evening in 2017, a large group of kids and teens ventured onto a frozen pond in Central Park. What they didn’t realize, though, was that it wasn’t solid and definitely unsuitable for standing on. As the friends played around, enjoyed themselves, and posed for selfies, the ice underneath their feet shattered, sending them into the freezing water. The harrowing clip shows them flailing around in desperation for a while. Thankfully, some witnesses then grabbed a ladder and helped them out. They subsequently received medical care, and all recovered.
#3: Plummeting to the Ground
Paraglider Kevin Philipp was jumping in Organyà, Spain when things took a turn for the worse. Per his YouTube video’s written account, the footage depicts him getting stuck in “strong turbulence” and falling directly into his paraglider. As he’s tangled in the lines, Philipp is unable to activate his backup safety parachute. As a result, he simply plummets to the ground at high speed while trying desperately to free himself. With literal seconds to go before he hits the ground, he manages to deploy his rescue pack and lands without major incident.
#2: Rehearsal Gone Wrong
Jonathan Goodwin is a professional escapologist who found success on shows like “America’'s Got Talent” and its British counterpart. In October of 2021, a camera captured him rehearsing for “America's Got Talent: Extreme.” His stunt is incredibly ambitious, as it sees him hanging upside down in a straitjacket high above the ground. Meanwhile, two exploding cars are set to release and sandwich Goodwin if he doesn't escape in time. Something goes horribly wrong, and both vehicles collide into him. His injuries were extremely severe, and he ended up paralyzed from the waist down, but ultimately survived. He’s since retired from stunt work.
#1: Mid-Air Collision
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In 2013, something absolutely horrifying happened: two Wisconsin planes bearing skydivers collided in the sky. This unfortunate crash is captured on various helmet cameras, as is the startling aftermath. Multiple people spill from the planes as fiery debris and falling airplanes rain down around them. It spelled catastrophe, but amazingly, all eleven people — skydivers and pilots alike — survived the terrifying accident. A few were hurt a bit, but thankfully, no one was hurt too severely. It’s an amazing story of survival and quick thinking, and it makes for some truly intense footage.
