MORE REAL- LIFE TALES WE WANT TO SEE MADE INTO BOOKS

1 NINE WEEKS IN THE OUTBACK

The Australian outback is one of the harshest environments on the planet, but 18- year- old accountancy student Matthew Allen managed to survive for nine weeks after going missing in January 2013. He was eventually found by two hikers and had lost half his body weight, was covered in leeches and unable to stand because gangrene had started to eat his feet and lower legs. The ordeal also left him partly blind.

2 TWO MONTHS UNDER SNOW

Swede Peter Skyllberg survived for two months when his car was buried under snow back in 2012 in temperatures as low as - 30C. He lived by eating snow and experts believe his body went into hibernation. Skyllberg was in debt and it’s believed he was trying to commit suicide. While Swedish doctors called it “the case of a lifetime”, one of his rescuers has cast doubt on whether Skyllberg really was trapped, claiming the car was never really completely sealed shut by snow. Still, if he was faking he went to great lengths: it’s estimated he lost around 20 kilos in body weight during the ordeal.

3 13 MONTHS ON A BOAT

Mexican fisherman Jose Salvador Alvarenga was found on his boat after spending 13 months lost in the Pacific Ocean after being blown off- course in a storm. He survived by eating turtles, birds, sharks and drinking rainwater. A 15- year- old boy who accompanied him died four months into the journey after losing all hope and refusing to eat, the fisherman claimed. Some people have questioned the validity of Alvarenga’s story, although he passed a lie detector test in April 2014.