5 most cowardly actions committed in a critical situation

We all know and remember heroes who saved other people’s lives, forgetting about their own. But the stories of cowards and scoundrels are, sometimes, no less instructive.

1. We're drowning! Hurry, lock up the passengers!



In the ocean, it would seem, and now is not so close that the ships collided with each other for nothing. What about the nineteenth century? However, one night in 1848, during a small storm, the crew of the passenger ship "Ann" still managed to crash into another ship - it was called "Hampton". At the same time, Hampton remained in a more or less normal state, but Anne quickly went down.

On board the drowning Anne were more than 100 passengers, peacefully resting in their cabins. I had to make a decision. And then the crew of the sinking ship realized that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone. There's not enough for anyone. Because there weren't any lifeboats on Anne. It was possible to escape only by moving to the second damaged ship.



And Anne's team, having consulted, made the only possible decision in the current situation, in their opinion: they nailed the hatches of the holds so that the passengers with their whining in the face of imminent death did not prevent the brave team from saving their skins.

But this story, strangely enough, had a good ending. Passengers managed to get out of their alleged "grave." They were all picked up by a miracle in these places ship – the third in this story.

Once safe, the passengers happily testified in court against the crew that doomed them to certain death.

2. It's just an earthquake, kids.



Being a teacher is a huge responsibility. Everyone knows that. A teacher from the Chinese province of Sichuan named Fan Mezong knew about this. Therefore, when the earthquake began (meaning the events of May 12, 2008; note mixstuff.ru), he did what he should have done. He told his students, “Keep calm.” It is an earthquake”. Perhaps the teacher's words would have had effect had it not been for one small detail: when they were spoken, he ran out of the audience. Without looking back.

So, without stopping, Mezong ran to the middle of the school football field. And only there he slowed down, realizing that something was wrong. China, of course, does not particularly encourage its citizens to have children, but abandoning them in dangerous situations is also somehow not accepted. Especially if taking care of your children is your responsibility.



To Fan’s credit, it must be said that when it came time to explain his deed, he did not become sloppy and twisted, but stated with all directness: “I have a very developed instinct for self-preservation. I've never been brave and I don't really care about anyone."" Honesty for a teacher is also a valuable quality, but Fan Mezong still lost his job.

3. Let the plane go on somehow. Andishedhere



One day in July 1989, NATO radar operators spotted a Russian fighter jet approaching the border between East and West Germany. Within a couple of minutes, two interceptor fighters of the US Air Force squadron, based in the Netherlands, took to the air. A few minutes later, the pilots reported that the Russian MiG-23 was dissecting airspace without a pilot.



The situation was catastrophic – not because the poltergeists learned to fly planes, but because this huge piece of metal, stuffed with weapons, sooner or later was bound to fall to the ground, and down there was Belgium and the places along the route were quite densely populated.

It happened like this: fighter pilot Colonel Nikolai Skuridin lifted his car into the air from the military airfield of the Pomeransk Red Banner Aviation Regiment. The plane was in full combat readiness. About a minute after takeoff, Skuridin recorded a decrease in engine speed and cotton in the left air intake. The plane began to descend. Skuridin decided that there was an explosion of the engine and, without thinking twice, ejected.

Later, when the recorders were found, it turned out that everything was in order with the plane. Six minutes after ejection, he began to climb again. The sound that so frightened the pilot was just a minor afterburner failure – nothing serious.

The MiG continued its automatic flight until it ran out of fuel and crashed into a residential building on the border between Belgium and France. One person died.

4. Get out! The rest will be saved by an iceberg



The Titanic is not the only ship to have been hit by an iceberg. In 1849, a ship with the beautiful name Hanna, bound for Quebec, suffered a similar fate.

Hannah quickly plunged into the water, on board - 200 passengers, and, as usual, lifeboats were catastrophically lacking. There was only one, the little one. Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, the captain and the crew jumped into the only rescue vehicle and were so.

Unfortunately, Hannah's passengers were far less fortunate than the passengers of the aforementioned Anne - no other ships were observed in the area. The only hope for salvation, paradoxically, was the very iceberg that was responsible for the death of their ship.



Passengers moved to the ice block, sat tightly and began to wait for a miraculous rescue. And it came - a few hours later they were picked up by a passing ship. After all the misadventures, the passengers found themselves in the same port, where their cowardly crew later drifted - the latter chatted in the ocean for two whole days. It’s hard to imagine how “warm” the meeting was.

5. There is no room for passengers in the boat! I'm not throwing my bags away!



In July 1880, the steamer Jeddah with Muslim pilgrims on board was heading towards Mecca. It was a modern ship with four spacious lifeboats. So in case of anything, everyone could be saved. It would seem. But...

On the third of August, a storm began, and so strong that the ship's boilers tore off the spot. This meant that the steamer could no longer move, and giant steel cylinders rolled on it nonstop. In addition, a small leak formed, and the ship began to slowly settle.

Despite the fact that 900 pilgrims tirelessly pumped water, the situation remained more than serious. The captain decided to cook the boats. And suddenly it turned out that there are enough seats only for the team with all its household and belongings. The next morning, the captain ordered the boats to be lowered.

Only the captain managed to escape. Two other boats were repulsed by angry pilgrims and left on board, the fourth was thrown into the water without passengers.



On the way, the captain, confident that everyone else was already resting on the ocean floor, came up with a story about a sunken ship and pilgrims who suddenly turned into a gang of brutal killers.

A few days later, the captain and his family were picked up by the steamer Skindia, and he had the opportunity to tell his story in colors and colors. And when on August 10, Skindia reached the nearest port, the captain was waiting for a big embarrassment - in the port there was a ship abandoned by him, which, as it turned out, was dragged in tow by a ship called "Antenor".

At the trial, the whole team tried to stick to the captain's version, but they failed.

Source: mixstuff.ru

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