The massive Cyprus Street viaduct collapses trapping dozens of people after a severe earthquake forces the entire city of San Francisco to a standstill. We hear the spectacular story from three survivors, trapped in three separate vehicles - two on the collapsed top deck and one below who is nearly crushed beneath tonnes of rumble and concrete. Lives hang in the balance as rescue crews struggle to reach them all before it's too late.
A catastrophic EF5-rated multiple-vortex tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri late in the afternoon in 2011. As it cuts through the southern part of the city, the nearly mile-wide tornado intensifies in size and strength, destroying more each minute. Telling the story are survivors that witnessed first-hand everything they cared about and worked for get sucked into the sky, all while trying not to suffer the same fate.
The West Warwick, RI, Station nightclub fire - one of the deadliest in US history - kills 100 people and injures 230 when a dangerous pyrotechnics display ignites sound insulation on the walls and ceilings and the blaze spreads with terrifying speed. Four survivors share their stories of the horrific inferno and stampede of people scrambling to escape before the nightclub collapses and kills them all.
As Hurricane Ike built up steam, citizens in Galveston, TX fled its path in droves. But those who stayed behind got hit by a storm more powerful than anyone could have predicted. As rising tides and damaging winds bring this category 4 hurricane to land-fall, those stuck in their homes and the rescuers on the front lines wonder how they are ever going to survive.
A sleepy town nestled in the picturesque French-Canadian landscape is rocked when a 74 car freight train derails in its downtown. Grinding across the tracks, in the middle of the night with toxic contents on-board, the cargo explodes killing dozens and leveling the homes and businesses in the town. The survivors are littered throughout the area, in the burning aftermath we uncover their stories of survival.
An accidentally dropped socket wrench punctures a fuel tank, leading to the complete destruction of a gigantic Titan II missile carrying a nuclear warhead. The explosion sends Greg Devlin flying 60 feet, burning his body with toxic fuel, as coworkers rush to save him and his crew. With a destructive power 600 times that of the Hiroshima bomb, the warhead could ignite other nuclear warheads in the region if it explodes, and bring an end to the world as we know it.
A major avalanche kills 29 people and injures 11 others in Rigopiano, Italy in 2017. The avalanche - the deadliest in Italy since 1916 - decimates a luxury hotel with a destructive force so extreme that it knocks the entire building from its foundation. Five adults and four children are trapped below the ruins as rescuers race to save them before they suffocate or freeze to death.
Professional hockey player Eric LeMarque is stranded in an out-of-bounds region of Mammoth Mountain, CA while snowboarding. His situation goes from bad to worse when the weather turns and Eric uses basic survival skills - building igloos and eating tree bark and pine needles - to stay alive. But after seven days, many believe Eric is dead and the rescue effort becomes one of recovery. Facing the elements, wildlife, and with no food or warmth, and still very much alive, Eric's story of survival is nothing short of a miracle.
Wolf Wagner and Johannes Hoentsch embark on the canoe journey of a lifetime through the wilds of Canada with hopes of adventure when they get more than they ever hoped for. Prepared with maps and supplies, they plan to spend the next three weeks paddling up the Hayes River. But when disaster strikes, and their canoe is wrecked on an extreme set of rapids, the two are put to the test of survival, pushed to their limits as they search for a way back to civilization.
Newlyweds Spencer and Jessica Christiansen are trapped miles under a mountain on an ice cave exploration adventure gone wrong. As they grope their way through the dark, cold and damp cave the two realize there is no sure way out. The duo run out of food, climb impossible paths to nowhere, longing every minute that goes by to see their one-year-old daughter again. After 30 hours the only heat source is burning clumps of hair ripped from Jessica's head. But they still have hope that rescue is imminent.
High School buddies Tommy Hendricks and Matt Smith set out to scale a mountain summit in the Rockies over Thanksgiving weekend. But as the climbers ascend to the summit of the mountain they quickly realize they are in for more than they bargained for. An early winter storm forces the boys to take shelter on a rock face. As the severity of the storm rages on, the young friends preparation is put to the ultimate test of survival.
Boxing Day, 2004. As families seek the warmth of a Thai beach vacation, they are unaware that a powerful wave is building off-shore after an earthquake sets destruction in motion. As the rising wall of water begins to make its way toward the shore, tourists and locals begin to evacuate, not knowing the size and speed of this enormous wall of water heading their way.
Miners know they have dangerous jobs where their lives are at risk each and every day. But as a mine shaft collapses on a group of 9 Miners, they quickly realize that rescue efforts will be nearly impossible. Banding together in the darkness below, they uncover a plan that may just save their lives. It's worth a shot, even if they die trying.