From a Jet Ski Hit & Run to a man impaled while spearfishing!
Here are ten of the wildest and craziest things that happen when water sports go wrong!
10: Jet Ski Hit & Run How dangerous do you think Jet Skiing is?
You probably see lots of pictures of people having a great time together out on the water,
but did you know that this sport could be deadly?
In one incident, a man trying to have some fun on a jet ski was killed when he got struck
by a 30-foot (9m) boat!
The boat was carrying around 15 passengers at the time of the incident.
but what’s really shocking is that even though the boat was filled with passengers,
whoever was driving the vessel kept on going after they ran the poor guy over.
They pulled a hit and run and tried to flee from the scene of the crime.
Even more unbelievable is that the police didn't catch the perpetrators.
They offered a $5000 reward to anyone with information that would lead to the arrest
of the driver – but nothing has been done!
Sounds like a case for a detective in an ‘80s police TV show, right?
This happened in Florida, water sports capital of the U.S., right off the coast of Miami.
And it should be a lesson to us all.
If you want to have fun, be careful or you could be run over by a boat!
9: Kitesurfing Superstar You may recognize Cliff Simon from the program
Stargate SG-1.
He played the villain Ba’al and was a fan favorite.
But unfortunately for his fans and for him and his family, he died in March 2021 after
getting into an accident on a California beach while trying to kiteboard!
He was 58 years old when he went down to Topanga Beach for a bit of fun in the sun.
Originally born in South Africa, Cliff was a star athlete.
He was a trained swimmer and had even qualified to be on the British International Olympic
team back in 1984.
But he never did make it to the Olympic Games and had instead joined the South African Air
Force before going on to work as a windsurfing instructor and eventually an actor.
Alas, Cliff's lifelong athleticism couldn't save him from the tragedy waiting for him
on the beach that day.
We don't know exactly what happened, as his wife refused to make the details of the accident
public.
But considering the most frequent accidents with kitesurfing involve falling off and crashing
into the water or colliding with things like rocks and boats, it's safe to say Cliff Simon
did not meet a very pleasant end.
8: Wakeboarding to Quadriplegic A day of wakeboarding turned into a day of
horror when Brad Smeele from New Zealand shattered his C4 vertebrae and was left a quadriplegic
for life.
That means he is going to be in a wheelchair, unless scientists in the future come up with
some type of medical miracle.
The accident happened in Florida when Brad tried to do a double backflip while training
at the biggest wake park in the world, located at Lake Ronix in Orlando.
The 27-year-old botched the flip and landed in such a way that his spinal cord was injured
beyond repair.
According to the Daily Mail, he only has a 2% chance of ever regaining the motor skills
to the top half of his body.
Imagine literally becoming a cripple for the rest of your life just because you wanted
to do a backflip in the water!
For Brad, that must be devastating.
Ever since the accident, Brad has been recovering in Orlando Regional Medical Center.
He's still trying to gain the ability to breathe without being connected to a ventilator.
For the longest time, he also suffered from a pneumonia infection.
But hopefully, he'll be discharged soon and can move on with his life.
Brad had been a professional wakeboarder for the past decade, splitting his time between
New Zealand and the United States.
Sadly for Brad, it looks like his days of wakeboarding are over.
Do you think scientists and doctors will ever come up with a way for quadriplegics to walk
again?
It could involve robotic limbs or other advanced technologies.
What do you say?
Tell me your opinion in the comments below.
Then remember to subscribe to World List for more intense videos like this one!
7: Surfer Lightning Katherine Diaz, arguably the top surfer in
all of El Salvador, has been killed while training to qualify for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
You will never believe the way that Katherine was killed.
It all happened after she entered the water at El Tunico Beach, roughly 10 miles (16km)
from the capital city of San Salvador.
She was on her board, she was getting ready to hit some waves, and out of nowhere, Katherine
was struck by a rogue lightning bolt and killed.
A streak of lightning zipped out of the sky, crashed into Katherine’s head, and the 22-year-old
girl was dead on the spot.
This was tragic for countless reasons.
It was devastating to the surfing community, devastating to the community in El Salvador,
and of course devastating to Katherine’s friends and family.
Everyone expects to be eaten by a shark or stung by a jellyfish while surfing.
The last thing Katherine had been expecting was a bolt of electricity from above.
Lightning strikes that kill humans are extremely rare, too.
In the United States, about 50 people per year die after being hit by a bolt of lightning.
The best way to avoid a tragedy like this?
When you hear thunder, get inside!
6: Sailing Race Tragedy The San Francisco Yacht Club had five of its
members killed in a brutal accident off the coast of California back in 2012.
It has been called the greatest tragedy ever in the history of the San Francisco Yacht
Club, which was founded in the year 1869.
A sailboat from the club had been racing around a small group of uninhabited volcanic islands
called the Farallones 28 miles (45km) from San Francisco.
During the race, the sailboat accidentally crashed into some rocks sticking out from
the water.
This was after huge swells knocked most of the crew members overboard.
By the time the boat hit the volcanic rocks, it was too late.
Only 3 of the 8 crew members survived the incident, with the boat being totally wrecked
and stranded on the rocks.
Let it be a lesson to all of us.
The ocean can be a very dangerous place!
5: Underwater Photography A British man was practicing a couple of his
favorite hobbies while on vacation in Ibiza.
These hobbies ended up getting him in deadly danger, as his unconscious body was pulled
out of the ocean and paramedics failed to save his life.
The tragedy happened while Kevin Smith was practicing underwater photography in a cove
near the popular resort of San Antonio.
He loved underwater photography and he loved snorkeling.
For Kevin, there could not have been a better way to spend his evening.
But things went wrong when he experienced difficulty underwater.
It’s impossible to say exactly what happened while he was down there.
He could have run out of air or accidentally swallowed some water while trying to snap
a photograph.
Whatever the case, the 35-year-old man drowned while taking pictures.
It’s probably no consolation to his family, but at least he died doing what he loved!
If you died doing what you love, where would they find you?
Eating a pizza?
Walking your dog?
Taking photographs underwater?
Tell me down in the comments section!
4: Spearfish Impalement Spearfishing is perhaps one of the most dangerous
things you can do underwater.
After all, you're essentially half blind in the darkness of the ocean wielding a giant
metal lance that you shoot like a harpoon.
It's a disaster waiting to happen, and one man was extremely lucky that he swam away
from his spearfishing accident with his life.
But he didn't escape totally unscathed.
This guy took a spear to his face while underwater.
It's not clear exactly how the spear went through his face, but it ended up entering
through his left cheek, puncturing the length of his head, then exiting out of his right
cheek.
The spearfishing gun must have gone off by accident.
The man, who has not been identified, shot himself through the face.
But judging by the pictures, the spear somehow missed anything important.
He will undoubtedly live, though not without suffering extreme discomfort and agonizing
pain.
And this is why you should never play with guns, especially while underwater.
Would you rather be shot in the face with a spear, or attacked by a shark while diving?
That’s just a question we may never know for sure!
3: Kayak Rescue In Scott County, a kayaking adventure ended
in tragedy when a woman and her fiancé got into an accident while kayaking in Elkhorn
Creek.
The couple went over the dam unexpectedly and got pulled underneath the water.
And if not for the quick thinking of a good Samaritan, both kayakers would have surely
died.
JC King was driving home from work when he saw the accident unfold before his very eyes.
He was driving alongside the Great Crossing Dam when he witnessed Edwardo Ponce and his
fiancée heading straight for the brink.
Edwardo managed to get out of his kayak, but the woman was stuck in hers.
By the time JC King reached the bank to haul the floundering woman out of the water, it
was too late for her would-be-husband.
They could do nothing but look on in horror as he was pummeled by stray logs and other
debris falling over the side of the dam.
His fiancée screamed his name and pleaded, but there was nothing to be done.
Even firefighters had a hard time getting Edwardo out of the water when they finally
arrived on the scene.
The first responders did eventually get Edwardo to dry land, but it was too late.
They tried to resuscitate him using CPR but according to the Scott County coroner, he
was pronounced dead at approximately 8:00 PM.
The young couple were supposed to be married just two months after their kayaking trip.
2: White Water Rafting Nightmare The owners of a white water rafting company
were jailed in 2013 following the relentless campaign of the parents of a schoolgirl from
Britain who drowned after she was thrown from an overcrowded boat.
The young girl was only nine years old and she was on holiday with her family in Turkey.
The holidaymakers had thought it would be fun to go rafting.
But it wasn't very much fun when their raft capsized as they went down some rapids.
They blamed the accident on recklessness, saying that the Turkish owners of the rafting
company were negligent and that the trip should never have been described as a family experience
because it obviously wasn't suitable for children.
The lobbying by the parents has since caused the rafting company to shut down and for its
owners to be sent to jail.
And to be honest, the owners of the company didn't have a very good case for the defense.
According to the Daily Mail, it was found out that they were selling souvenir DVDs for
over $40 that showed dramatic footage of rafters being tossed out of boats that capsized against
rocks.
These boats were designed to carry a maximum of 8 passengers but were often filled with
over 12 people.
That squeeze to get a few extra bucks per ride cost the owners of the company dearly
as they rotted away in prison for nearly 6 years.
Even now that they are out, it's not like there is much waiting for them because their
business is gone.
Do you think they got what they deserved?
Or was the punishment too harsh?
1: Cave Diving Disaster In February of 2014, two divers perished at
a depth of over 300 feet (90m) while cave diving in Norway.
The authorities at the time claimed it was too precarious to retrieve their corpses.
This didn't stop four friends of the deceased from going into the cave system and retrieving
the bodies themselves.
Seven weeks after the fateful accident, they descended into the dark and freezing waters
to retrieve the bodies of their pals.
This is one of the most horrifying caves in the world.
It's actually nothing more than a pond on the surface.
But if you dive into the pond, continue swimming down for nearly a mile (1.5km), you eventually
emerge inside of a massive cave.
It's a hugely popular spot for diving hobbyists who want to admire the underground grotto.
But it's only a place you should go if trained and experienced.
It can be a death trap.
The two Finnish friends who died were part of a 5-man team embarking on a five-hour dive
at depths of over 300 feet (90m).
Only 3 of the 5 friends ever made it out of that cave, and they did so with debilitating
decompression sickness.
And yes, the friends did manage to bring out the bodies of the deceased.
It was an operation that went on for five days.
What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen while doing water sports?
Let me know about it in the comments.
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