I devour the details, feel lucky that it’s not me and think back uneasily to all the times that it could have been — the times that I’ve gone walking ill-prepared, say, or flown on dodgy airlines.
It’s odd that it doesn’t happen more often. According to the Office of National Statistics, 58 million UK residents travelled abroad in 2001. In the same year, there were 1,356 recorded deaths (including 35 accidents at sea, 13 in the air and 14 skiing or mountaineering) and 543 serious crimes (including 161 assaults, 84 rapes and 20 abductions). That’s roughly one incident per 20,000 people, though more go unrecorded.
Still, if it happens to you, the statistics are irrelevant. Every so often, circumstances combine to harm travellers. Sometimes they could have done something to avoid it; more often, events are completely beyond their control.
All these people have survived such incidents, most of them without any lasting damage. We asked what lessons they have learnt from their experiences.
Elephant charge in South Africa
I KEPT telling myself not to be ridiculous, Jill Hartley writes. I wasn’t going to die. Woman killed by stampeding elephants is something that happens to other people, isn’t it? I knew we were in danger when our safari Jeep broke down in the middle of what we later discovered was a breeding herd. I was staying with my husband David at Ndumo, a South African game reserve, and we had opted for a day out with another couple at the Tembe Elephant Park with James, our Zulu guide.
By 11am we’d seen mongoose, warthog and had several good bird spots, when we came upon four elephants about 20 metres away. Sensing that we were too near, James cut the engine.
Then we spotted a bull on our left, breaking down trees. James decided to back away slowly. We were clearly in danger, surrounded on three sides, and none of us dared look behind. James tried to start the engine but it whined and died. It was a heart-stopping moment. I counted 16 elephant, seven of them calves, and they were coming nearer.
James carefully produced a gas canister from the Jeep tool box. He told us in a whisper that it would make a loud bang and emit smoke. He’d never used one before.
The largest female started to approach and stopped just 4m from the vehicle. She was pawing the ground and snuffling the dust with her trunk, an obvious warning sign. We all sat rigid and silent. I remember thinking how easy it would be for an elephant to tip over the Jeep. Would the entire herd then stampede? We would be crushed to compost.
Then we heard the trumpet call of what James later said was the lead matriarch. Obediently all our elephants turned on their heels and trotted off into the bush to meet her.
James never let off his flare and we were rescued half an hour later by a camp Jeep. Today we still have “what might have been” conversations.
Page 2: drugged and mugged in Ecuador; crushed in an avalanche, Canada
Page 3: bandit ambush in Colombia; shot in Yemen; avoiding trouble
()Drugged and mugged in Ecuador
Mark Braeburn, 43, stockbroker
“While travelling during my year off in the late Eighties, I flew to Quito, went to a small town outside the city and bumped into an Ecuadorean student, a pleasant guy who spoke English.
“We met up for a drink in a big market place, and he said, ‘You must try this drink, I’ll go and get you one.’ I drank it and remember feeling a bit woozy. He said it must have been something I had eaten.
“I woke up lying on a grass bank with no money, no camera, no passport. I was picked up by an English girl who found me in the main street of Baños swearing and shouting that I’d been robbed. She looked after me until I got my passport back.
“I might have been a bit more savvy, but I was there to meet locals and learn something about the country. I’d just say don’t take anything that you can’t afford to lose.
“But I do remember being completely paranoid afterwards. When I got home, I made my mother lock the boot of the car as we drove back to Fulham from the airport.”
Crushed in an avalanche, Canada
Robert Feltham, 53, businessman
“In 2001, I was heliskiing near Revelstoke, in the Canadian Rockies. We were all experienced, with a good guide, in fresh snow, skiing in pairs.
“Then I thought, ‘What the hell is the world shaking for?’ then realised it was an avalanche. Ten thousand tons of snow at 60-70mph — there’s no comparison. My skis must have gone. I was fully conscious but I recall it going dark and thinking, ‘That’s bad news.’ It was over in seconds. Everything stopped and I was wrapped around a tree. My ski boot hit me on the back and my leg was still inside it. The pain kicked in instantly.
“The helicopter saw it happen, so the guide arrived within two minutes. My skiing buddy, a great friend, was killed. I’d ripped out an artery but in effect I got hypothermia, so I didn’t bleed to death.
“It took two hours to get off the mountain and they operated for six hours. I’d lost pints of blood. I had multiple leg fractures, one hip had sheared off and I had a broken arm. I was in hospital in Canada for three weeks, in a wheelchair in England for nine months, then on crutches for six and sticks for a year.
“I’ve got no complaints. If you do something like this, there’s a risk. Your mental attitude is by far the most important factor in your recovery. I went skiing this year for the first time since the accident.”
Page 2: drugged and mugged in Ecuador; crushed in an avalanche, Canada
Page 3: bandit ambush in Colombia; shot in Yemen; avoiding trouble
()Bandit ambush in Colombia
Esther Raphael, 27, radio producer
“I was on my gap year, staying in Santa Marta, north of Bogota. Me, my friend Roz and four Israeli guys decided to go to a village where you could meet Indians. We hitched to the bottom of this tiny valley and found a Jeep to drive us up.
“I was just dozing off when we stopped and a guy in a balaclava was there with a gun. I almost started laughing out of nerves.
“Five other men came running over with guns and balaclavas — we were told to get out, sit on the roadside and not talk. Part of you is not surprised — this is Colombia — and another part of you can’t believe it. They told us to take our shoes off and give them any money we had, and raided the vehicle we were in. That’s when we got scared. We could only see their eyes and we felt completely vulnerable.
“There were Indians coming down the track and a jam began to form. We had no idea what was going on, it was chaotic. We were there for about five hours. They took the leads out of the Jeep. Then they just ran off with all our stuff. We had to walk back down.
“We didn’t freak out, so we didn’t scare them — and I’d go back to Colombia tomorrow. The trouble is, if something does happen, it’s your friends and family who have to pick up the pieces — but when you are out there, you do have a sense of invincibility.”
Shot in Yemen
Rupert Earle, 43, solicitor
“It was my first time in the Middle East and it was fascinating. You used shared taxis or hitched. I had the Lonely Planet guide with me which at that time (the early 1990s) said that hitchhiking was safe.
“I wanted to see the tower houses in Thulla, so I got into a Land Cruiser. We were weaving about a bit, then the driver stopped, opened my door and pointed a pistol at me. One of the other guys had a djambia (a Yemeni dagger). I thought to myself, ‘I’d better negotiate my way out of this one, otherwise they’ll take my pack and shoot me anyway.’
“I did hear the gun go off several times, but I wasn’t conscious of having been shot. I thought I’d been stabbed. There was blood coming from my head, leg and hands. I felt anger that my holiday was disintegrating, then terror that my life might be in danger. I wasn’t calm, but I do remember feeling angry. I got picked up by a man and I wanted him to chase them, but he wouldn’t. He took me to hospital, where I spent five days.
“With hindsight, it was a bad time to be in Yemen. There was high unemployment, a lot of people used qat (a narcotic leaf) and the country was full of guns. My biggest mistake was getting into a car with four blokes. I also relied too much on the guidebook. I still travel on my own, though. If you thought about it, you probably wouldn’t go. I’d go, but I’d certainly be more careful.”
Avoiding trouble
If you are mugged: Co-operate. Many muggers are armed or have armed accomplices. Be ready to give up your valuables.
If you are taken hostage: Raise your head only when you are directed to speak, and don’t look at your captors directly.
If you are faced with a herd of elephants: Stay in your vehicle. If outside, try not to let elephants surround you. Their strategy often is for a few members of the group to stare you down while others move around to your side.
If an earthquake strikes: If indoors, take cover under a sturdy piece of furniture. If outdoors, move away from trees, signs and buildings.
If you are caught by a powder avalanche: Seek shelter behind rocks or trees, crouch low and cover your nose and mouth.
Nicola Iseard
