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Generally, rescue operations for individuals trapped underground decrease after five to seven days due to the scarcity of drinkable water, rising carbon dioxide levels, and the mental toll of isolation. Survival beyond this window is uncommon.
Nevertheless, there are astonishing survival tales that challenge these grim predictions. These rescue stories from across the globe are nothing short of miraculous.
10. Hidden Treasure Mine Shaft, United States
In 1989, a group of Cub Scouts were exploring an abandoned mine shaft near Salt Lake City. Joshua Dennis, just 10 years old, got separated from his father, the scout leader, and the rest of the group when he took a wrong turn. He spent five days resting on a ledge, surviving on just 10 small pieces of licorice.
Chances of survival were slim when a search team, which had passed the area multiple times, finally picked up his faint cries. He was suffering from dehydration and mild frostbite.
9. Sichuan Earthquake, China
In May 2008, a powerful earthquake struck Sichuan province, even shaking skyscrapers in Shanghai. Rescue efforts were hampered by the inaccessibility of the mountainous regions affected by the disaster.
While China prepared for three days of mourning, miracles occurred. In Beichuan County, near the epicenter, Li Mingcui, a 61-year-old woman, was discovered beneath the rubble of a former bazaar. She had survived for seven days despite suffering from dehydration, liver and kidney failure, multiple fractures, and a collapsed lung.
8. Wangjialing Coal Mine, China
In 2010, workers in the Wangjialing coal mine were trapped for eight days after they accidentally breached an old shaft filled with water while digging a tunnel. The mine quickly flooded with enough water to fill 55 Olympic-sized swimming pools, trapping over 100 workers. Some tied their belts to the walls of the shaft to avoid being pulled into the water. Many survived by eating paper, coal, and tree bark, and drinking the black, murky water.
Thousands of rescuers worked around the clock to pump water out of the shaft. Divers initially tried but failed to reach the trapped men. As the water levels dropped, rubber rafts could navigate the narrow, low passages. Ultimately, 115 men were rescued, many suffering from hypothermia, dehydration, skin infections, shock, and low blood pressure.
7. Bam Earthquake, Iran
Trapped under wooden debris, Shahrbanou Mazandarani, a woman in her late nineties, was discovered eight days after the ancient city of Bam was destroyed by a 2004 earthquake. Experts had lost hope, as they believed surviving more than three days without food or water under the rubble was nearly impossible.
Rescue dogs found her, and soldiers initially thought the hand sticking out from the ruins belonged to a corpse. After three hours of digging, they uncovered her wrapped in a blanket, completely unharmed. She credited God for her survival and, without hesitation, asked for a cup of tea.
6. Deep Lark Mine, United States
In 1969, William Jones endured nine days in a space barely large enough for him to crouch, after an avalanche trapped him 8 kilometers (5 miles) underground in a lead-zinc mine. Despite frustrating rescue efforts, hope was restored when rescuers risked their lives to tunnel through 7.6 meters (25 feet) of rock.
Rescuers initially attempted to dig a direct route through mud and rock, but the threat of a cave-in halted the operation. An attempt with diamond-tipped drills was also abandoned. He was eventually pulled through a narrow 0.6-meter-wide (2 feet) passage and had to climb down a ladder on his own.
At the mine entrance, an emotional reunion took place with his wife and 11 children. In the hospital, he was overjoyed to take a bath, shave, and watch his dramatic rescue unfold on television.
5. Port-au-Prince Earthquake, Haiti
Wismond Exantus was found just hours after the United Nations had officially called off the search and rescue mission during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Trapped beneath the wreckage of the Napoli Hotel’s shop for 11 days, he survived by consuming cookies, beer, and Coca-Cola from the shelves.
In a remarkable turn of events, his brother refused to believe he was dead and, after revisiting the hotel ruins, heard his faint cries for help. An international team of rescuers worked tirelessly, using drills and handsaws to cut through the concrete.
The smallest rescuer, a Scottish woman, crawled 4 meters (13 feet) through a narrow opening to give him water. He managed to escape through a gap barely wider than his shoulders.
4. Tangshan Earthquake, China
Over 200,000 lives were lost in the devastating Tangshan Earthquake of 1976. Rescue efforts were delayed for days in a city that had been leveled to the ground. With no heavy machinery, all digging had to be carried out manually, and aftershocks and torrential rain further complicated the process.
After eight days, the city was eerily quiet, with soldiers only uncovering bodies. On the 13th day, signs of life were discovered beneath the rubble of a collapsed hospital. Lu Guilan, a woman in her forties, had survived by drinking her own urine and rainwater that filtered through the cracks.
It took seven hours to reach the final concrete slab. An army photographer, who assisted with the digging, captured the moment Lu was pulled from the wreckage, creating one of the most emotional images from the disaster.
3. San Jose Copper Mine, Chile
In 2010, a remarkable rescue operation saved 33 Chilean miners who had been trapped 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) underground for an astonishing 69 days. The rescue team was stunned when one of the drill bits emerged with a note taped to it, confirming the miners were still alive.
The miners had found shelter in a chamber and rationed their meager supplies of tuna, milk, and biscuits. Once they were located, food and other vital supplies were sent through the drilling hole. It took several weeks before an extraction tunnel could be completed.
Meanwhile, NASA engineers designed and tested a specialized rescue capsule equipped with oxygen, communication systems, and medical monitoring devices. The world anxiously awaited as each miner was lifted to safety in the Fenix 2 capsule, a journey that took just 15 minutes.
2. Pingyi County Gypsum Mine, China
On December 25, 2015, a powerful collapse in a Shandong gypsum mine sent shockwaves strong enough to be recorded by earthquake sensors. Some miners were rescued swiftly, but four were trapped 200 meters (660 feet) underground for 36 grueling days.
Five days after the collapse, infrared cameras captured the miners cramped together in a space no larger than 0.7 square meters (8 feet). They endured for two weeks before rescue teams managed to drill down far enough to provide them with food, clothing, and lamps.
Several failed attempts to drill a wider shaft led to the decision to dig a completely new one. The tense mission ended when each miner was carefully winched to safety in a small capsule. Tragically, the mine's owner took his own life by jumping into a well just two days after the disaster.
1. Beaconsfield Gold Mine, Australia
In 2006, two Tasmanian miners, Brant Webb and Todd Russell, were trapped in their cherry picker cage for 14 days after an earthquake triggered a rockfall underground. Five days later, a thermal imaging camera found them more than 0.8 kilometers (0.5 miles) beneath the surface. Before being located, they survived by eating a cereal bar and licking water from rocks.
A 12-meter (40 ft) pipe was set up to deliver food, including hot omelets, to the trapped miners. To lift their spirits, Foo Fighters' frontman David Grohl sent a fax after learning that the miners were listening to his music on an MP3 player.
Digging through rock five times harder than concrete required the use of explosives, rock splitters, drills, and even chainsaws. Australian TV stations broadcasted the live moment when the miners walked out of the Beaconsfield mine, with church bells ringing in celebration.
