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It's September, people - summer is over. A lot of you are probably wishing summer never ended. Well, for some people, their vacations could have meant the end of their lives, and they're probably thankful to be home safely. As we're all getting back from our summer trips, let's take a look back at some vacations that could have spelled death for these famous celebrities. We often forget that they are people just like us, and yes, they are mortal too. They are just as prone to accidents and unfortunate events as the rest of us. Many celebrities are lucky to be alive after these crazy vacations gone wrong.
It doesn't help that a lot of celebrities are adrenaline junkies. They want to live the high life, they want to live in the moment, they want to get wild on their vacations! This means bungee jumping, skydiving, mountain climbing, surfing... you name it. These celebrities want to make their vacations memorable, and sometimes they take it too far. It also doesn't help that celebrities tend to fly on planes a lot. As you'll read below, planes can be incredibly dangerous. The chances of a plane accident go up significantly if you're riding private jets all over the world almost every day. Something is bound to go wrong eventually, as some of these celebs found out the hard way. The truth is that these near-fatal accidents are simply freak occurrences that could happen to anyone, including celebs!
15. Benedict Cumberbatch
In 2005, Benedict Cumberbatch was in South Africa when something insane happened that almost cost him his life. Him and two other friends were driving outside of Durban when their car got a flat tire. They were forced to pull over and try to fix it. That's when six guys with guns pulled up beside them. They were robbed, tied up, and thrown in the back of a car. When Benedict started moaning about how tight the ropes were around his wrist, they threw him in the trunk. He thought for sure he was going to be killed and thrown into a shallow grave by the roadside. However, fate had other plans for ol' Cumberbatch. The robbers pulled over, dumped the three guys on the side of the road, and sped off, leaving them unharmed. Eventually someone found them and freed them. That's when Benedict Cumberbatch completely broke down and started crying.
14. Anne Hathaway
In 2o14, Anne Hathaway was in Hawaii when something went terribly wrong. She was swimming on a beach when she was caught in a riptide that pulled her out to see. She screamed and hollered at anyone to come and help. If it weren't for a nearby surfer that swam to her aid, she probably would have drowned. She was being pulled down into the depths of the Oahu seas, so much so that she scraped and cut her foot on the coral reef below. In the end, she was fine after being taken back to shore. But this incident was definitely one that the Academy Award winner won't soon forget.
13. Chris Hemsworth
Chris Hemsworth is always playing action heroes, but his own adventures don't always turn out well. The most dangerous vacation he has ever been on was undoubtedly his trip to the Himalayan mountains with his wife. They were climbing a mountain together, when things started to go wrong, fast. The thin air at such a high altitude started to mess with his mind. He got angry, and started to act irrationally (he started talking to dogs and whining like a child). When they hit 4,000 feet, things started to get even worse for Chris. He started to toss and turn in his sleep, screaming. His wife alerted the guides, and they realized he wasn't getting enough oxygen. They started panicking, injecting him with drugs that would adjust his oxygen levels, saying that he needed to get off the mountain immediately. Eight hours later, and he was back down at the base of the mountain. Apparently, one more day and he would have lost oxygen to his brain and died.
12. Travis Barker
It was a truly sad event when a plane carrying Travis Barker and Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein crashed. 4 out of 6 people on board died, including both pilots, a security guard, and a studio employee. The plane was a charter flight taken by Adam Goldstein and Travis Barker as part of their tour. The two were part of a music group called "TRV$DJAM." The two both suffered intense injuries as part of the crash. Barker was left with second-degree burns over 2/3 of his body. Technically, Travis Barker was the only real survivor of the crash, since Adam Goldstein later overdosed on the drugs he was given to help him deal with the aftereffects of the crash, which he combined with cocaine.
11. Jessica Lange
Jessica Lange was taking some time off at her cabin when she had a terrible accident. Considering she was 60 at the time, it could have been way more serious. In fact, it could have easily killed her. She reached for a handrail and slipped, cutting her forehead, bruising her ribs, and breaking her collarbone. We all know from those commercials that falls are the number one cause of injury in elderly people. She had to be hospitalized, but she showed amazing toughness and was released soon afterwards. Her cabin is located in Minnesota, close to where she was born. No doubt she will be much more careful when she goes up and down stairs in the future.
10. Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was one of the greatest writers of all time, but he was also a pretty wild guy. After he and his wife had brought ten children into the world, he dumped for a girl who was younger and hotter. Charles Dickens and this young lady friend set off together on a crazy vacation in France. After their trip had come to an end, they boarded a train back to London. But karma was about to slap Charles Dickens in the face for leaving his wife. Workers were fixing the train tracks miles ahead on a bridge above a swamp, and they didn't realize the train was coming. When the engineer saw that the there were no more tracks, he slammed on the breaks, but it was too late. Every train carriage except the one Dickens was on fell off the bridge. 40 people died. But somehow this writer survived.
9. Justin Theroux
In 2015, Justin Theroux married Jennifer Aniston. The two went on a wonderful honeymoon together in Bora Bora, but this trip almost cost Justin Theroux his life. The couple wanted to make this trip fun and awesome, and so Justin Theroux decided to try some scuba diving. Big mistake. He was swimming around under the ocean when he realized his oxygen tank was running low. He motioned to his French instructor but he just ignored him. Then he swam over to his buddy and showed him the tank, and his friend freaked out. The oxygen levels were so low that a few more minutes and Justin would have been dead. They finally got the instructor to swim over and give him the emergency oxygen tank. When he was finally taken to the surface, he was so angry at this scuba diving instructor that he had to fight back the urge to punch him in the face.
8. Bono
Bono is another celebrity that just narrowly survived a gruesome death from a plane crash. What is it with celebs and plane crashes anyway? Is it just because they fly a lot more than us common folk? Or is it because their pilots get wasted? Bono was flying at a high altitude when the rear door on the plane just flew off. Now you all probably know that planes are pressurized, meaning that when the door flew off, everything started to get sucked out from the plane, including loose possessions and everyone's luggage. Luckily, the pilot was able to make an emergency landing quickly, and no one was hurt. Bono and four friends were travelling from Dublin to Berlin.
7. Lindsay Lohan
Whenever you visit a foreign country, make sure you're educated about all the diseases you could get while there, or you could end up like Lindsay Lohan. She was visiting French Polynesia and while she was there she contracted a deadly virus. The virus, called the "Chikungunya Virus," can last up to 7 days, and it can be fatal. Even more dangerous is the virus can cause joint pain that can last for years afterwards. The virus is carried by two types of mosquito, and Lindsay Lohan was unlucky enough to get bitten by one carrying the disease. There is no known cure, meaning all that Lindsay Lohan could do was rest and wait for it to go away. In the end, she was fine.
6. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Skiing can be fun, but also incredibly dangerous. Arnold, being a native of mountainous Austria, loves to ski. But his passion for the slopes might have cost him his life. In 2006, Arnold Schwarzenegger was visiting Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho with his family. He was going down a difficult ski run when he tripped over his own ski pole. Suddenly he found himself tumbling down the steep slope. It could have been much worse. In the end, Arnold only had a broken femur. It could have been his neck. He had to have plates and screws surgically implanted into his leg. The run that he fell on was renamed "Arnold's Run" in his honor.
5. Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher was one of the best drivers to ever grace the tracks of Formula 1 racing. He, like, Arnold, had a love for skiing. It's ironic that his greatest injury wasn't on the high-octane tracks of Formula 1, which has taken many lives in its history, but on the snowy slopes. He was skiing off the main trail, on an unmarked slope. After taking a tumble, he suffered massive, life-altering head-injuries. He lost blood for 8 minutes before paramedics could arrive. He was placed in a medically-induced coma for 6 months so he could recover from the brain hemorrhaging he had suffer. At first they said he might never wake up from his coma, but now rumor has it that a full recovery might be on the cards. Now he is recovering, but some say only a miracle will cure him.
4. RJ Mitte
Fans of the show Breaking Bad will recognize this actor. He played Walter White's son. But this actor almost became disabled in real life after a terrible accident while on vacation. The young actor was on a deer hunting trip with his uncle in 2015. The two were riding around Louisiana on ATV's, looking for deer to hunt. Everything was going fine until RJ Mitte's ATV flipped. It could have easily killed him. Luckily, the only injuries he suffered were several bad scrapes and bruises. He was lucky not to get a concussion, and even luckier not to have broken his neck.
3. Lawrence O'Donnell
The host of The Last Word, Lawrence O'Donnell, was very close to taking his last vacation ever in 2014. Him and his brother were travelling outside of the country in the British Virgin Islands, at the resort island of Tortola. We all know that some taxi drivers in other countries can be pretty insane. This was no exception, it seems. Lawrence and his brother Michael decided to take a taxi. As the taxi drove up a narrow mountain road, the taxi was hit head on by a drunk driver. Both Lawrence and his brother were severely injured, but survived. They had to be transported back to America for treatment. The TV show host had to take several weeks off work to recover from a broken hip, and considers the event to be near-death experience.
2. Brody Jenner
Brody Jenner is known for a lot of things. Girls recognize him as "the guy with the killer body." He is also an avid surfer. But his love for surfing could have meant his death during one surf session gone wrong. Brody was on a surfing vacation in Indonesia when something went very wrong. One huge wave came in and Brody dropped in. But the wave took him under, and something very dangerous was lurking below. As he was pulled under the surface, he was scratched by razor sharp coral reef hiding below. It could have easily cut an artery or caused massive bleeding, but he was lucky. Only his shoulder caught the worst of it. In Brody's own words, he was "Grateful it was not worse..."
1. Britney Spears
Britney Spears suffered one of the closest shaves with death during her trip to Hawaii in August 2016. She was on a beach and decided to go swimming in the waves. At first she thought it was fun and "Just like a wave pool." But then she started to realize that nature was a powerful beast and that this experience was going to be far from enjoyable. The waves grew higher and higher, and they eventually overcame Britney. She started to get sucked under the water again and again, and each time she came up for air, she was thrown back under before she could catch her breath. When one particularly big wave came, which the singer says was over 6 feet tall, she was sucked under for 5 minutes! Maybe that was an exaggeration... But it's clear that the star almost drowned on this vacation.
Sources: Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Wikipedia
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