Afterwards, Cynthia said: "You just do what you have to do. You find the energy from somewhere." Like Cynthia, other people have shown an almost superhuman will to survive in the most terrible situations. When they think they're going to die they find they have extraordinary mental and physical strength. They can ignore fear and pain and think only about surviving.

Dr. Ralphus, a well known research scientist, says there are in fact real physical changes in people's bodies when they face death. The heart beats much faster to give them special strength. The brain turns down the emotions so that there is no sense of fear. The person can then concentrate on the threat at hand.

What do you think is the most important reason why people survive life-threatening situations?

Do you think it's luck ? Or fitness ? Courage ? Good planning ? Strength ? Or something else?