Crushed by a pine tree: stars who died for a ridiculous reason . What We Do Wrong During a Funeral
Taphophobia, or the fear of being buried alive, is one of the most common human phobias. And there are quite good reasons for this. Due to the mistakes of doctors or the illiteracy of ordinary people, such cases occurred quite often before the normal development of medicine, and sometimes happen in our time. This article contains 10 incredible, but absolutely real stories people buried alive who still managed to survive.
Janet Philomel.
The story of a 24-year-old French woman named Janet Philomel is most typical of most such cases. In 1867, she fell ill with cholera and died a few days later, as everyone thought. The girl was given the funeral service by the local priest according to all the rules; her body was placed in a coffin and buried in the cemetery. Nothing unusual.
Strange things began when, a few hours later, the cemetery worker was finishing the burial. Suddenly he heard a knock coming from underground. They began to dig up the coffin, simultaneously sending for a doctor. The doctor who arrived actually discovered a weak heartbeat and breathing in the girl, raised from her own grave. And on her hands there were fresh abrasions received from the fact that she was trying to get out. True, this story ended tragically. A few days later, the girl died for real. Most likely due to cholera. But perhaps also because of the nightmare she experienced. This time the doctors and priests tried to carefully make sure that she was really dead.
Unknown from Sao Paulo.
In 2013, a woman living in Sao Paulo, visiting her family gravestone at the cemetery, witnessed a truly horrifying picture. Nearby, she noticed a man who was desperately trying to get out of the grave. He did this with difficulty. The man had already freed one arm and head by the time local workers arrived to him.
After the unfortunate man was completely dug up, he was taken to the hospital, where it turned out that he was an employee of the city hall. It is not known for certain how it happened that the man was buried alive. It is believed that he was the victim of a fight or attack, after which he was considered dead and buried to get rid of evidence. Relatives claimed that after the incident, the man suffered from mental disorders.
Baby from Dongdong province.
In a remote Chinese village in Dongdong province, there lived a pregnant girl named Lu Xiaoyan. The medical situation in the village was very bad: there were no doctors, the nearest hospital was several kilometers away. Naturally, no one monitored the girl’s pregnancy. Around the fourth month, Lu suddenly felt contractions. Everyone expected the baby to be stillborn. And so it happened: the baby that was born showed no signs of life.
After giving birth, the girl’s husband realized that she would most likely need professional health care, so I called an ambulance. While Lu was being taken to the nearest hospital by car, her mother was burying the child in a field. However, at the hospital it turned out that the girl was not in her fourth, but in her sixth month of pregnancy, and the doctors, assuming that the child could survive, demanded to bring him. Lu's husband returned, dug up the tiny girl and brought her to the hospital. Surprisingly, the girl managed to get out.
Mike Mainey.
Mike Mainey is a famous Irish bartender who asked to be buried alive to set a kind of world record. In 1968, in London, Mike was placed in a special coffin equipped with a hole through which air entered. With the help of the same hole, food and drink were passed to the man. It's hard to believe, but in total Mike was buried for 61 days. Since then, many have tried to break this record, but no one has succeeded.
Anthony Britton.
Another magician who voluntarily allowed himself to be buried in the ground in order to get out of the grave on his own. However, unlike Mike, he was buried without a coffin, at a standard depth of 2 meters. In addition, his hands were handcuffed. As planned, Anthony was supposed to repeat Houdini's trick, but things didn't go according to plan.
The magician spent almost nine minutes underground. For the rescuers on duty above, this was the extreme threshold for starting active actions. They quickly dug up the poor fellow, who was in a half-dead state. They managed to pump Britton out. He subsequently said in various interviews that he was unable to complete his stunt because his hands were pinned to the ground. But worst of all, after each exhalation, the earth continued to squeeze his chest more and more, not allowing him to breathe.
Baby from Compton.
Most recently, in November 2015, two women were walking in a park in Compton, a small city in California. Suddenly, while walking, they heard a strange child's cry, coming as if from underground. Frightened, they immediately called the police.
Arriving law enforcement officers dug up the bike path completely under the asphalt small child, no more than two days old. Fortunately, the police quickly took the little girl to the hospital and her life was saved. Interestingly, the baby was wrapped in a hospital blanket, which allowed detectives to quickly determine when and where she was born, as well as identify the mother. A warrant was immediately issued for her arrest. She is now accused of attempted murder and child endangerment.
Tom Guerin.
The Irish Potato Famine of 1845-1849 resulted in a huge number of deaths. Gravediggers in those days had a lot of work, and there wasn’t enough space to bury everyone. They had to bury many people and, naturally, sometimes mistakes happened. Such, for example, as with Tom Guerin, a 13-year-old boy who was mistakenly taken for dead and buried alive.
The boy was declared dead, brought to the cemetery, like many others, and began to be buried, in the process accidentally breaking his legs with shovels. It’s amazing, but the boy not only survived, but also managed to get out of the grave with broken legs. Witnesses claim that Tom Guerin subsequently limped on both legs for the rest of his life.
Child from Tian Dong.
A terrifying story occurred in May 2015 in one of the southern Chinese provinces. A woman who was collecting herbs near the cemetery suddenly heard the barely audible cry of a child. Frightened, she called the police, who discovered a baby buried alive in the cemetery. The baby was quickly taken to the hospital, where he soon recovered.
During the investigation, it turned out that the parents, who did not want to raise a child born with a cleft lip, put the baby in cardboard box and carried it to the cemetery. After several days, the relatives came to the cemetery and, thinking that the child was already dead, buried him at a shallow depth of several centimeters. As a result, the boy spent 8 days underground and survived only because oxygen and water penetrated the layer of mud. According to police, when the boy was dug up, the child was literally coughing up dirty water.
Natalya Pasternak.
A terrible incident occurred in May last year in the city of Tynda. Two local residents, Natalya Pasternak and her friend Valentina Gorodetskaya, traditionally collected Birch juice not far from the city. At this time, a four-year-old bear came out of the forest towards Natalya, who, considering the woman her prey, attacked her.
The bear partially scalped her, left a deep wound in her thigh, and seriously injured her neck. Fortunately, Valentina managed to call rescuers. By the time they arrived, the bear had already buried Natalya, who was in a state of shock, as they usually do with their victims, in order to leave it for later. Rescuers had to shoot the animal. Natalya was dug up and taken to the hospital. Since then, she has undergone many operations, and her recovery is still ongoing.
Essie Dunbar.
30-year-old Essie died in 1915 from a severe attack of epilepsy. At least that's what the doctors said. The girl was declared dead and funeral preparations began. Sister Essie really wanted to be present at the ceremony and categorically forbade the burial to begin until she personally said goodbye to the deceased. The priests delayed the service as much as they could.
The coffin had already been lowered into the grave when Sister Essie finally arrived. She insisted that the coffin be lifted and opened so she could say goodbye to her sister. However, as soon as the coffin lid opened, Essie stood up and smiled at her sister. Those present at the funeral rushed from there in panic, believing that the girl's spirit had risen from the dead. Even many years later, some townspeople believed that she was a walking corpse. Essie lived until 1962.
On Wednesday, March 28 in Kemerovo: five funeral ceremonies and 13 coffins. Some had to bury several people at once: entire families became victims of the fire.
Those whom relatives could identify were buried first.
Sarkis Khumaryan is the father and grandfather of Dmitry and Mikhail Galanin, who died in a shopping center in Kemerovo. He says that he was not allowed into the morgue and was not shown his son’s body for identification. He had to be identified by the few remaining intact things: a ring and a cross.
But the fire charred and mutilated many of the bodies beyond recognition, and it was impossible to identify them by fragments of clothing or objects.
On Tuesday, the authorities and this very figure were the Deputy Minister for emergency situations Vladlen Aksenov repeated this to journalists three times on Wednesday, emphasizing that there were exactly 64 people killed in Kemerovo, and there were no other “missing” people. Rescuers call exactly the same number of remains of bodies found in the shopping center, believing that there is no one else left under the rubble.
At the same time, the lists of people who have been identified are updated every morning. And yet, many of the bodies found continue to remain unidentified, and hotline and now reports of people missing on Sunday continue to come in.
As of Wednesday morning, the list of “missing people” compiled by the Ministry of Emergency Situations exceeds the official one by 20 people, the head admits public organization"Your City" Maxim Uchvatov. However, he emphasizes: every name in it must be checked. And this is what it was created for working group, which included relatives of the victims and volunteers.
“Now there are about 18-20 names that need to be additionally checked, in addition to those 64,” says Uchvatov.
IN secondary school No. 7 in Kemerovo, which is located next to the burned-out shopping center "Winter Cherry", the operational headquarters for assistance to victims of the fire still continues to operate. Relatives of the missing remain in the small gym for days, waiting for news about their loved ones. The room smells of valerian, Emergency Situations Ministry employees pour tea, psychologists, emergency doctors and an Orthodox priest walk between the rows of plastic chairs.
“I can’t stay alone at home: I climb the walls,” admits one of the women in the audience.
The main question that unites everyone here is whether the bodies of their relatives and friends have been found, and when it will be possible to bury them.
Before our eyes, one of the women at the headquarters with tears persuades me to go with her to the morgue and says that the investigators will not give her her son’s body. His mother is confident that she has identified him. But the case materials say that there is too little evidence to be completely sure: after all, fragments of clothing and other signs can be repeated in different people.
Investigators insist on an examination of each body found, and it can last up to three weeks. More than thirty fragments of bodies (this has already been officially announced) will be taken to Moscow for genetic examination, and it will also take time.
Confusion in the terms used by rescuers and investigators to refer to fire victims has already led to the fact that few people believe the data of the authorities in the city and at the headquarters itself. Disputes continue around the published list with the names of 64 people. It gets to the point that local volunteers have to go around all the city orphanages: the day before, a rumor spread in Kemerovo that the corpses hidden from the public were burnt orphans and that was the only reason no one was looking for them.
But rumors about orphans so far turn out to be false: volunteers have never found any missing children.
The city authorities promised to pay each person whose loved ones died a million rubles. Another million will be allocated to the families of the victims federal authorities and three million - the owner of the burnt shopping center. Deputy Governor of the Kemerovo Region Sergei Tsivelev, at a meeting with relatives of the victims, said that “the money is already being transferred to the account” and “we will start paying it even before the end of the investigative actions" to everyone on the list of 64 people.
As often happens: something happens, but you cannot believe it, because the event seems very wild and unnatural. This is roughly what happened with these celebrities who passed away due to an unfortunate accident. Anews remembers famous people who died due to an absurd coincidence of circumstances.
Isadora Duncan, dancer
50 years old, killed by her own scarf
It happened on a clear September day in 1927 in Nice. The dancer decided to go for a walk in open car and, as usual, she tied a long scarlet scarf around her neck (this was one of the artist’s favorite accessories). Alas, it was he who became the reason for Isadora’s untimely death.
When the car started moving, the long end of the scarf was carried outside the door and wound around the axle. The dancer's neck was severely compressed. Moments later, Duncan died from asphyxiation. It is believed that last words The artists before getting into the car sounded like this: “Goodbye, friends, I’m going to fame!”
The ashes of Isadora Duncan are buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
Alan Pinkerton, famous detective
64 years old, stumbled and bit his tongue
The name of this man is best known to connoisseurs of detective stories. Alan Pinkerton - American detective, founder of the National detective agency Pinkerton", which became the prototype of the book detective Nat Pinkerton.
Alan's death was not at all like the mysteries that he had to solve in his line of duty. Everything turned out extremely prosaic. In 1884, a detective was just walking along the sidewalk, tripped and bit his tongue hard. This seemingly trivial injury after some time developed into gangrene, which caused the detective’s death.
The detective was buried in Chicago at Graceland Cemetery.
69 years old, killed by a tree
Theater and film actor Anatoly Romashin, who, as the press liked to write, was best at playing the roles of Russian intellectuals, died at his own dacha in the Moscow region.
The actor had long wanted to cut down a huge pine tree that grew on the site. And so, on August 8, 2000, hands finally got around to this matter. Anatoly Vladimirovich took a chainsaw and approached the tree. While cutting a pine tree, Romashin was distracted for a second by his little son, who was playing nearby, and that’s when trouble happened. A huge tree collapsed, but the actor did not have time to jump away.
Six months after the tragedy, the actor’s dacha burned down. Anatoly Romashin is buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. After his death, a special acting prize “Chamomile” was established at the Moon Theater.
Brandon Lee, actor
28 years old, shot with a broken pistol
The son of the legendary actor Bruce Lee, Brandon, died on his 28th birthday and 17 days before his own wedding.
The tragedy occurred on the set of the film "The Crow". In one scene, Brandon was supposed to be shot by the villain Fanboy, played by Michael Massey. So the 44-caliber revolver, which was in the actor’s hands, malfunctioned: there was a plug inside, which the members of the film crew did not know about. As she fired, she flew out and wounded Brandon in the stomach.
After the incident, the actor was taken to the hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life. The guy died 12 hours later in a hospital in North Carolina. Brandon Lee was buried next to his father in Seattle at Lake View Cemetery.
After Lee's death, the producers decided to continue filming with a stunt double. Scenes with the actual murder of the actor were cut and deleted. Work on the film was completed on June 28, 1993.
Andrey Panin, actor
50 years old, had a bad fall
Russian theater and film actor Andrei Panin passed away in extreme mysterious circumstances. His body was found in own apartment in Moscow in March 2013. Panin was lying on the floor, and blood was oozing from his head.
Initially, experts came to the conclusion that the actor drank, fell from his own height, hit his head (presumably on the toilet) and died from the injury. However, then other versions were heard, including murder. They say there was a fight in the apartment, and the actor was beaten to death. A criminal case was even opened on this matter, which was later closed “for lack of corpus delicti.”
A year has passed since the terrible plane crash over Sinai, which claimed the lives of 224 people. This period became a very difficult test for the relatives of the victims. New photographs from the plane crash site appeared in the media every now and then, and in in social networks scammers tried to profit from someone else's grief by posing as family members of the victims of the terrorist attack. After the death of their relatives, some went deep into themselves, others began to divide their children and living space, and still others still cannot bury their loved ones, because the bodies of six people have still not been identified. AiF.ru found out how the relatives of those killed over the Sinai live a year after the tragedy.
Those greeting us hoped until the very end that the plane would land in St. Petersburg. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
“The last wish is to find the culprits”
A year after the Airbus A321 crashed over Sinai, the investigation into the deaths of 224 people continues. Those who planted the bomb on the plane have not yet been found, but recently experts were able to identify the specific place where the explosives were located: the terrorists hid TNT between baby carriages at the rear of the plane. New information about the progress of the investigation appears in the media mass media almost every day, but most relatives of the victims do not follow this news: anyway, you can’t bring your loved ones back, and constant reminders of the tragedy only open up still fresh wounds.
Emergency Situations Ministry employees provided assistance to relatives of flight passengers psychological assistance. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Petersburg woman Natalya Zavgorodnyaya, who lost her parents on October 31, 2015, dedicates everything free time helping abandoned animals. “Natasha threw herself into her work,” the girl’s friends say. “It helps take your mind off grief.” Natasha helps animals, searches for them new house. All publications and stories cause her even more pain.” Mother Alexey Gromov, who died along with his wife Tatiana and 10 month old daughter Darina, on the contrary, is closely monitoring the progress of the investigation. According to the woman, life is over for her, but one thing remains last wish: that those responsible for the death of her children and granddaughter, “the most important passenger” of flight No. 9268, be punished.
Relatives of the plane's passengers tried to find information about the flight. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Compensation for the death of relatives
Currently monetary compensation received by all the families of the victims. The relatives were paid a million rubles each by the St. Petersburg authorities, and another million by the insurance company. True, to receive this money, some people had to spend a lot of time and nerves. It turned out that compensation is provided only for immediate relatives - children and parents. Compensation for the dead grandchildren, grandmothers or grandfathers had to be sought in court. I encountered this problem Shein family, who lost in a plane crash not only her adult children, but also three grandchildren. Now all financial issues have finally been settled.
About 70 families with whom I worked lawyer Igor Trunov, will receive an additional million dollars from the American leasing company International Lease Finance Corporation, the owner of the crashed Airbus. Before legal proceedings the matter did not come to fruition: the company had already confirmed its readiness to make payments. Most families did not turn to a well-known lawyer: for many, the three million rubles they had already received were enough. Besides, as we know, money cannot relieve grief.
After the terrible news, information about the flight was removed from Pulkovo electronic displays. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
Return of the Prodigal Father
It was money relations that became a bone of contention in many families of the victims. So, after the disaster, the father of the deceased Alisa Vitalieva, who had not communicated with his daughter for many years, immediately appeared on the horizon. The girl's mother also died in the plane crash. ex-wife Irina. When Denis and Irina Vitaliev divorced, the woman raised her daughter alone, and ex-husband did not participate in any way in the girl’s life and did not pay child support: he had a new family. However, Irina was calm about the girl’s future, because Alice was supposed to inherit the apartment of her grandmother, Irina’s mother. When the tragedy occurred, the girl’s father immediately rushed to St. Petersburg, received compensation in the amount of 3 million rubles for her death and declared his ex-mother-in-law, Elena Stepanovna Voitenko, that now, by law, he claims half of her apartment, since Alice will no longer inherit.
The 63-year-old pensioner was outraged by such impudence, but then she had no time to sort things out: the pain of losing her beloved daughter and granddaughter was too great. Meanwhile, Denis Vitaliev, realizing that the law was on his side, wrote an application for inheritance. Currently, the conflict between the former relatives remains open: they have to go through many trials. “He did not raise his daughter and did not help financially,” says Alisa’s grandmother. “And now I’ve written an application for inheritance, although I promised not to lay claim to my home.” He decided to take the last thing away from me!”
On October 31, 2015, emergency workers and an ambulance were on duty near the airport. Photo: AiF/ Yana Khvatova
6 people are still not buried
Brother of Irina Vitalieva Alexander, unlike his careless son-in-law, did not try to take property from anyone, but organized charitable foundation assistance to the relatives of those killed in the crash over Sinai "Flight 9268". A St. Petersburg resident who lost his sister and niece found the strength to support other people. Alexander organizes memorial events in the city and is actively working to approve a monument to the victims of the terrorist attack.
According to the foundation, several families still cannot bury their loved ones: six of the dead have not yet been identified. Their remains are kept in the St. Petersburg crematorium all year, but are not subject to examination to establish their identity. People are patiently waiting for the newly discovered remains in Egypt, after being studied, to be transferred to St. Petersburg so that relatives can identify and bury their dead loved ones. If the identification procedure does not take place, the remains of six people will be buried in a mass grave.
Exactly one year after the tragedy, at 7:14 a.m. on October 31, a memorial service for the dead passengers of flight 9268 will be held in the Trinity Cathedral of St. Petersburg. On this day, their relatives will gather together again to remember those who can no longer be returned.
In memory of the victims of the Sinai disaster, 224 flying cranes were created in St. Petersburg. Photo:
At a military cemetery in the Moscow region, a farewell ceremony was held for the last victims of the military Tu-154 plane crash, which crashed into the sea on December 25 last year after takeoff from the Sochi airfield. The bodies of about half of the 92 dead were discovered and buried shortly after the tragedy. Then, for another whole year, the sea washed ashore the fragmented remains of other passengers - they were interred after undergoing genetic and molecular examination. Nothing was found from 12 passengers, so their clothes or belongings had to be placed in special boxes.
The Ministry of Defense not only organized the entire farewell ceremony for the relatives of the last victims of the disaster, but also provided its Federal War Memorial Cemetery near the village of Sgonniki in the Mytishchi district of the Moscow region for the burial of the victims of the disaster. Traditionally, only military personnel are buried there, and even then only those who rose to the highest ranks of the army or died heroically during hostilities. This time, in the area of the memorial complex, built in the very center of the cemetery specifically for the victims of the December disaster, they were allowed to bury all passengers - both military and civilian.
Let us note that the funeral took place in this complex throughout 2017. First, passengers were taken on their final journey here, whose bodies were discovered and identified immediately after the tragedy. Then, over the course of a year, one by one, the remains were buried, which the Black Sea gradually washed up on the Sochi beaches. A genetic molecular examination was carried out on each fragment, after which the person was officially declared dead and the investigation gave permission for his burial. However, a year after the disaster, it turned out that 12 of the 92 bodies had simply disappeared and there was no longer any hope of finding them. It was then, as reported by the victims’ lawyer Igor Trunov, that the decision was made to conduct the so-called funeral in the absence of bodies.
“Such a procedure, unfortunately, is becoming an objective reality of our time,” lawyer Igor Trunov, who represents the interests of relatives of the victims, explained to Kommersant. “It is necessary to arrange a funeral without the deceased almost after every plane crash or large-scale terrorist attack. On the one side, the federal law this prohibits the funeral business, but on the other hand, people who have lost a relative need a place of worship. In addition, the death of a person must be officially recognized and documented to resolve various legal and property issues. That’s why the authorities have to meet the victims halfway.”
This was the case this time too - the investigation officially declared all 12 unfound dead, and the Ministry of Defense provided their relatives with mini-coffins and a special capsule containing a handful of soil from the Sochi coast. She was brought to the memorial in a Tiger armored car.
The relatives of the victims were allowed to put in the boxes what each of them considered necessary and appropriate. Some managed to observe the ritual in at least some form - the investigation gave them fragments of clothing or personal belongings caught from the sea, taken by the dead on their last flight. It is known, for example, that a bunch of apartment keys belonging to one of the victims was placed in one of them. The keys, along with a massive plastic keychain that played the role of a float, were found on one of the beaches. Other relatives decided to bury the passenger’s braid, cut off when she was a girl and kept at home for many years. However, to bury an exhibit from family archive failed. The fact is that there was not one, but two braids in the closet, since two sisters were getting their hair cut before school. At the same time, over the years, their parents were unable to remember which hair belonged to a living woman and which belonged to a dead woman. The braids underwent genetic and molecular testing, but even specialists were unable to identify them due to the fact that the biomaterial of the relatives turned out to be similar in structure. Those who did not receive anything put photographs of the dead or just flowers in the boxes.
The funeral took place before the opening of the monument at the memorial complex, made by sculptor Maxim Malashenko - yesterday morning the white cloth was solemnly removed from it. The dead were seen off on their last journey to the sad “Adagio”, written by the head and artistic director of the Academic Song and Dance Ensemble Russian army them. Alexandrov Valery Khalilov. The conductor himself, we recall, together with many of his musicians flew to Syria on December 25 last year to give a festive concert there for military personnel. They all died in the disaster. In the final part of the ceremony, according to tradition, the Russian anthem was played and a triple salvo was fired.