RD Talks: Drama in Real Life

One moment the helicopter was running perfectly. The next, it was hurtling towards the wind-whipped ocean.

The woman was dying, and the jumbo jet had no time to land. ‘I have to operate,’ the surgeon said.

A lightning strike at 10,000ft saw a 17-year-old girl free fall into Amazonian rainforest – and live to tell the tale.

Scrambling from the downed chopper, the three stunned survivors confronted vents of hissing steam and a boiling lava pit. Sulphurous fumes made them gasp. If there’s a hell, one thought, it’s definitely like this.

It was a split-second decision. The predator had the young woman in its jaw and he might be her only chance of survival.

The day began as a joyous outing for a West Australian family, but turned into a night of terror.