Top 10 Hostages Escape Stories
Welcome back guys, I hope youre well, I hope youre safe and I hope you are free to do what
you want today.
Many people out there are not.
They are being held hostage for financial, political or moral reasons against their will.
Sometimes though, these people refuse to just roll over and be a prisoner - they fight back
in some of the most incredible ways imaginable.
My name is Danny Burke and this is the top 10 hostage escape stories.
Starting off at number 10 we have Kosuke Tsuneoka.
In 2010, this Japanese journalist was captured by an insurgent group in Afghanistan.
They treated him well but refused to let him go.
After 5 months, one of his captors approached him with their new phone and asked Kosuke
to help set it up.
He did just that and went even by further by showing them them the internet including
Twitter.
However, instead of setting them up with accounts, he logged into his own twitter and sent out
some desperate tweets.
The first told everyone he was alive, the second gave the name of his captor and his
location.
He was free to leave the VERY NEXT DAY.
Thats the power of twitter.
Next up at number 9 we have The Tea.
In 2016, a story emerged of a 12 year old girl and her 17 year old aunt who had managed
to escape from ISIS - and it involved a cup of tea.
The Yazdi woman and girl had been held by the terrorists in Iraq for months with no
hope of escape.
Despite this, the terrorists would give them some basic amenities.
One day, the girl asked for some pills to help them sleep.
They got them - but didnt take any for themself.
They waited and then slipped the pills into the tea that their captors were drinking.
They passed out into a deep sleep and the girls managed to escape back to their families
…
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/12-year-old-ISIS-hostage-escaped-captors-by-slipping-sleeping-pills-in-their-tea-452098
At number 8 now we have Rambo.
In 2009, a french security agent called Marc Aubriere was captured in Somalia by insurgents.
They announced that Marc and another agent were to be tried under Islamic Law for -spying
and entering Somalia illegally to assist an enemy of Allah- … the French government
was worried, 6 weeks passed and it didnt seem like they would be able to get him back - others
hostages had been killed by the group before.
And then one day, Marc walked up to a group of peacekeepers at the presidents palace,
identified himself and demanded to be given a safe haven.
It turns out he had killed 3 of his guards and escaped in the middle of the night.
He said he was in a good mood shortly before his flight home to France.
The French Foreign Ministry declined to give any more details leading many to picture Marc
as some sort of Rambo type figure who turned the tables on those that were about to kill
him ...
At the number 7 spot now We have the flight.
In 2007, a flight to the Canary Islands was hijacked by a man who was trying to seek political
asylum in France.
He held the pilot at gunpoint and told him to head to France.
The 71 passengers on board were terrified but little did they know - their pilot was
a genius.
He realised that the hijacker didnt speak a language that the rest of them all did - French.
So, as they were coming in to land, the pilot told the passengers in French that he was
going to make it a bumpy landing so that the the hijacker would be knocked off balance.
Sure enough, the bump sent the hijacker tumbling to the floor - at that point the crew and
passengers threw boiling water over him and beat him into submission.
This is why you should all listen in French class …
http://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Armed-with-French-quick-thinking-pilot-thwarts-1839353.php
Coming in at number 6 We have Tarzan.
In 1958, a group of American golfers were ambushed in Cuba by soldiers of the revolution
there.
They didnt like the look of these rich, capitalist, American golfers and held them at gunpoint
to interrogate them.
They eventually got to 54 year old actor Johnny Weissmuller - you guys might not know him
but back then - he was famous for being Tarzan.
Like - THE Tarzan in all the movies.
He got passed the language barrier by telling the rebels -Me Tarzan!- … they didnt understand
and so he stood up, beat his chest and let out the famous Tarzan yell - just like this
- .. amazingly, it worked - they recognized him and the group was free to go.
I guess Ill have to start doing a top 10 list if I ever get captured by rebels, I doubt
they watch this though ...
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/11/november-18-195.html
At number 5 now We have The Bed.
This is the incredible story of Mohammed Sadiq al Tajir.
He was the brother of a billionaire Arab ambassador in London.
He was walking home in London in 1986 when he was kidnapped by 4 men who were asking
for over 70 million dollars from his family for his return.
After 10 days of being chained to a bed, they told him that he would be released the next
day.
He didnt believe this and when they werent around, he got up and dragged the whole bed
out of the room, down the stairs and into the street.
He knocked on the door of a woman who was very shocked to see a man handcuffed to a
bed asking for help.
It turns out that he really was going to be released the next day but it still makes a
good story ...
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-01-18/news/8601040658_1_kidnappers-scotland-yard-arab
Moving on to number 4 We have Parcheesi.
In 2008, American journalist David Rohde was captured by the Taliban.
They held him for 7 months while making crazy demands such as the release of all Taliban
prisoners.
David and his fellow prisoner knew their only way to get past the guards was for them to
actually lower their guard.
So, they decided to make them sleepy by playing Parcheesi with them - a classic board game
that requires some real concentration.
After hours of this mental exercise, the guards eventually got tired and fell asleep.
The two hostages then used a rope to climb over a wall and escape the compound.
I think those guards wont be playing any board games with their hostages any time soon - or
if they do it should be monopoly, thats a pretty intense game, youre not gonna fall
asleep during Monopoly …
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/asia/22hostage.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2
Next up at number 3 have Diana Ross.
Diana Ross is one of the most famous Mowtown artists of all time.
In 1969, while still part of the Supremes, she opened the door of her apartment to a
man with a butchers knife.
He put her in the back of his car and started to drive.
After half an hour, she made a grab for his knife but only managed to cut her hand.
Ross knew she was running out of options fast and so she decided to jump out of the car.
Thats right.
She jumped out in the fast lane, rolled along and managed to not get hit by any cars before
landing in a ditch.
She ran along the road trying to flag cars down but nobody stopped, presumably nobody
also recognised it was THE Diana Ross either.
Eventually, she was spotted by two highway patrolmen who helped her.
So, she can sing out of her mind and shes a total badass.
Good for you Diana.
https://books.google.com/books?id=_jcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA55&dq=cindy+birdsong+kidnapping&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RNTLT5rZLYqq2gX0nsTaCw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=cindy%20birdsong%20kidnapping&f=false
Next up at number 2 we have Erica Pratt.
On July 22nd 2002, 7 year old Erica Pratt was snatched off a Phildelphia street by 2
men and bundled into a car.
She was taken to an abandoned house, blindfolded, bound and left alone in the basement.
Then, the kidnappers called her family demanding $150,000 which they believed the famly had
receved from a life insurance policy.
While the phone negotiations went on upstairs - Erica started to chew through the tape around
her hands.
After hours, she finally broke through the tape.
She fumbled around in the dark until she found the stairs.
The door was locked so she kicked out one of the panels to squeeze herself through.
THEN, she smashed through a window and started calling for help, two boys heard her and within
hours she was rescued.
This was all done by a 7 year old.
I don't know what I was doing at age 7 - I could barely tie my own shoe laces nevermind
escape a deadly hostage situation.
Brave girl Erica.
And finally at number 1 we have Frank Edward Ray.
In 1976, Ray was a bus driver whos bus was hijacked with 26 children on board.
The kidnappers drove around for a while before taking them to a quarry and blocking off their
escape.
They were there for 11 hours while the kidnappers demanded 5 million from the families of the
kids.
During this time, Ray managed to push the roof of the bus open which the men had weighed
down with two 100 pound batteries.
They used a pile of stacked mattresses to escape out of the hole.
Ray made sure every last kid was safe before leaving the scene himself.
The kidnappers fled when they realised what had happened but Ray had memorised their number
plate with led to their arrest.
What an incredible guy.
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/local/article3267366.html
Alright guys, if you liked this video, you will probably love our secret messages sent
by hostages video - some very interesting stories in that one to keep you busy for now.
Until next time - Im Danny Burke, thank you as always for watching and Ill see you in
the next video!