Top 5: the luckiest people in the world who escaped death
5 (100%) 2 votesYou never know how lucky you are until you face danger head on. These five people know from their own experience what the "breath of death" and miraculous deliverance are. Here they are, five favorites of luck and very lucky people.
Frain Selak
His story begins in the 1960s when he was riding a train that derailed, falling into a river. It was February, and Selak, unlike the other 17 passengers, survived, escaping with a broken arm.
A year later, Selak was flying a commercial aircraft when the cockpit doors depressurized and he, along with the other 19 passengers, was pulled out of the aircraft. He was again the only survivor who was lucky enough to fall on a haystack.
Exactly one year later, Selak decided not to take risks and be closer to the ground, this time taking the bus. Perhaps he was no longer surprised when he found himself in the cold river again.
After all these "adventures", and avoiding a couple more car bombs, Frain received "compensation" from fate in the form of a one million dollar lottery win.
Timothy Dexter
Timothy is a lucky redneck who has been favored by fortune all his life. Nature endowed him with business acumen and ingenuity, depriving him of any ability to study (Dexter did not even know how to spell his name correctly).
His acquaintances made fun of him, giving him wrong or unsuccessful advice in terms of commerce, but in the end everything turned out for the best for Timati.
One such piece of advice was to sell heat-retaining pans in Western India (a region with a warm climate), but the captain of his ship managed to sell the whole batch as ladles for a growing molasses company, making a huge profit.
The second insidious advice was the idea to sell the woolen mittens of the same company, which they bought and resold in Siberia. After Timati was persuaded to sell coal in Newport, famous for its coal mines, miners' strikes began in the city, and Timati made a small fortune for himself there.
At the age of 50, he published the book What the Smarties Don't Know or the Simple Truth of the Hillbilly. At first he gave the book for free, but soon a publishing house was found that printed his book eight times, despite the fact that the text of the book itself does not contain a single punctuation mark.
Jason and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence
Normally people get into deadly trouble once in their lives, but this couple managed to get terror attacks three times! Their "lucky" story begins with a day when they strolled through New York on a pleasant September morning, enjoying the view of the twin towers.
Four years later, they repeated their experience when there was a terrorist attack on the city's public transport in London. And in conclusion, these two again found themselves in a "hot spot", now in Mumbai.
Despite all the misadventures, this couple is very optimistic and looks to the future without fear.
Spring Woolowitz
This flight attendant disproved everything we know about gravity. When a terrorist attack occurred on board her plane, which gained a height of 10 km, and the plane, along with passengers, was scattered in all directions.
Vesna miraculously discovered that she survived, escaping with a broken jaw, both legs and spine. She was paralyzed for several years, but a series of successful surgeries got her back on her feet.
Now Vesna is also famous for setting a world record for a long jump without a parachute, which the title holder herself is not too happy about.
Tsutomu Yamoguchi
Tsutomu is one of the rare people who managed to witness two nuclear bombings in a row.
The first time, he was blinded and burned by a nuclear explosion in Hiroshima, being only 6 km from the epicenter of the explosion. He managed to get home the next day in Nagasaki, where a terrible deja vu awaited him.
Tsutomu lived a long life, full of terrible events and memories, and never for a moment stopped fighting for the nuclear disarmament of all countries. Relatives until the end believed that radiation sickness would bypass him, but at the age of 93, Tsutomu died of stomach cancer.
Inspired by the example of these people and knowing what they had to go through, our daily problems seem not so global and catastrophic. We hope you learned something new for yourself, and our article was useful to you.
The luckiest man in the world lives in Croatia in the small town of Petrinja. His name is Frane Selak, a musician and conductor by profession. It is Frane Silak who is officially recognized and listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the luckiest inhabitant of our planet.
“The luck of this Croat would definitely be enough for 5 lives of 5 average people. Who will give an answer why God gave him his hand so many times at the most dangerous moment? (German magazine)
Here is what Selak says:
“In my life I have experienced 7 catastrophes - 7 times I was on the verge of death. And ask me - am I a lucky person? I will answer - YES! Very lucky! My mom was 7 months pregnant. In 1929 one Saturday, dad, his name was Martinet, went to sea in a boat - he loved to fish. And my mother always kept him company in this. Halfway through, my mother called out, “Martinet, I think I’m about to give birth!” Papa says; - you're crazy, 2 more months to wait! So my mother gave birth to me in a boat. And dad cut the umbilical cord with a fishing knife. And, grabbing my head, he dipped me into the sea, wrapped me in a shirt and quickly swam back.”
And in the hospital, where the spouses immediately turned, the baby's condition worsened. Of course, there were no incubators for newborns at that time. And the doctors pronounced a verdict: the boy is not a tenant. But Frane's mother didn't even think of giving up! She rushed to the church, onto the shirt in which the baby was wrapped in the boat - she sprinkled it with holy water - and the child immediately breathed differently, returned to life. This was the first miracle in the life of Frane Silak. Many years passed before Frane understood: already then, in the first days of his life, fate gave him the first, yet unconscious hint, which his parents later told him about more than once: luck goes into the hands of only those who, regardless of circumstances and opinions, ready to fight for it to the end.
The seven disasters of Frane Selak
The first time a Croatian was truly lucky was in 1962, when a train on which he was traveling from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik derailed and fell into an icy river, reports Ananova. Then seventeen people drowned, and Frane Selak almost died with them. With him, he pulled out from the other world an old woman who was traveling with him in the same carriage. He managed to swim ashore, having received severe hypothermia, shock, bruises and breaking his arm.
In 1963, he fell out of a plane between Zagreb and Rijeka - during the flight, the plane door suddenly opened. There was a wonderful stewardess on board the plane. He unfastened his seat belts and went to the girl to flirt. At that moment, the door of the plane opened, and the stewardess flew out of the plane, followed by the womanizer Frane. The stewardess hung on the crown of a tree, clinging to her clothes, and this saved her life. Frane fell into a haystack. It turns out that the plane, due to fog, touched a part of the mountain with its wing. As a result of this disaster, 17 people died again. Selak escaped with shock, bruises and cuts. This case was included in the Guinness Book of Records.
In 1966, the bus in which he was traveling to the city of Split tilted and fell into the river. Four people died. Selak swam ashore, cut, bruised, and more shocked this time.
Disaster number four happened to a Croat in 1970. The Skoda car in which he was driving on the highway suddenly caught fire. Selak managed to get out of the car a few seconds before the gas tank exploded.
After this incident, his friend began to call the lucky Croat "Lucky". “He then said to me: “You can look at everything that happens to you from two sides. Either you are the unluckiest person in the world, or you are the luckiest.” I preferred the latter,” says Frane.
In 1973, a leaky fuel pump squirted gasoline directly onto his car's hot engine, blowing flames through the breather. Frane lost his hair, but again he was unharmed, except for minor burns.
In 1995, Frane Selak's sixth crash occurred. On one of the streets of Zagreb, he was accidentally hit by a bus. The lucky Croatian got off with a "light fright" this time - he received minor bruises and an even greater shock.
The following year, Selak was traveling in his car in the mountains when suddenly, as he rounded a curve, he saw a UN truck speeding straight at him. His Skoda crashed into a road barrier, broke through it and hovered on the edge of a cliff. Salek managed to jump out of the car at the last moment. After a short flight, he landed on a tree, from where he was able to follow the flight into the mountain gorge of his car, which exploded 90 meters below him.
Frane Selak also attributed five of his marriages to the catastrophes of his life.
But if before 2003 the “higher powers” tested Frane in various catastrophes, then in June 2003 it was “decided” to test him with what most people associate with happiness - 74-year-old Frane won the equivalent of 600 thousand rubles in the lottery. pounds! This is almost $1,000,000.
With the money he won, Selak bought a car and a speedboat. After that, he married for the fifth time to his beloved, who is 20 years younger than him.
Then he declared: “Now I will enjoy my life. I feel reborn. I know God has been watching over me all these years.”
But then Frane Selak, considered the luckiest person on earth, decided to distribute the amount he won earlier in the lottery to friends and relatives, writes The Daily Telegraph. Selak decided that "money can't buy happiness" and returned to a modest life. He sold his luxurious home on a private island, distributed the money, and returned to his modest home in Petrinja, south of Zagreb.
The luckiest man in the world said:
“God gave, we shared, thank the Lord, we are alive and well. We are all lucky at least because we live.
“All I need at my age is Katarina! Money wouldn't change anything,” the pensioner said.
He spent the remainder of his winnings on a hip replacement surgery to make his married life more enjoyable, and also erected a chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary to thank the Virgin for his good fortune.
I hope you have...
…happy enough to make you feel sweet,
…enough trials to make you strong,
… enough sadness to remain human,
…enough hope to keep you happy.
I became curious to see the horoscope of the lucky one)) so I will partially consider the horoscope and the factors of luck or bad luck. Is it all that bad?
1st house (ascendant) in 21 degrees of Scorpio - a person has a powerful inner strength, an inexhaustible supply of energy. Scorpio symbolizes the process of transformation (the process of inevitable change).
The ruler of the 21st degree is Pluto. Indicates an unstable life, fate is full of change and change. Blows and vicissitudes of fate. The threat of collapse, collapse, fall, overthrow. Sooner or later, Pluto makes you know yourself, completely transforming the worldview. The pain of parting and loss helps to gain new experience and experience previously unknown feelings.
The Ascendant also got in conjunction with the star Unuk Alhaya (Heart of the Serpent - has the nature of Uranus and Neptune), often its action is very dangerous and destructive. It is noteworthy that Unuk Alhaya in love and marriage for men speaks of his wife's infidelity, or of his attraction to many women. But, the star is favorable to those who begin to help others, transfer their knowledge, and then the influence of the Unuk Elhaya star will give good luck and luck.
Ruler of the 1st house Pluto is in the 8th house- rock is always close. The ability to survive in extreme situations is the danger of falling into mass disasters, not getting lost under any circumstances, a person knows how to take risks and survive in disasters. There are many situations in life that force you to burn bridges and start all over again.
2nd house (associated with finances)- cusp in Sagittarius. Saturn stands here, which indicates that a person will earn a little for a living. But Saturn is in harmonious aspects with strong Neptune and Venus. And harmonious aspects promise money, property, especially in old age. Also, these are good musical abilities, earnings related to creativity, Selak is a musician by profession.
Uranus(generates sudden events, surprises) the ruler of the 3rd house (short trips) is in the 5th house - on trips, unexpected adventures from the “you can’t think of it on purpose” cycle. Uranus has harmonious aspects to Mercury (in the 8th house) and Mars in the 9th house (travel, trips, luck), so our hero is lucky to escape death by a miracle.
4th house in Pisces- mystical circumstances of birth. Let us remember the birth of Frane at sea and the miracle that happened in the church. The ruler of the 4th house is Neptune in the 9th (according to Hermes, the ninth house is the house of God, the Higher Will, help from Above. It is the ninth house that allows a person to change fate). Neptune is a theme of mystery, danger, uncertainty and risk.
There are two large trines in the Frane chart. On the map, a large trine is formed by Saturn, Venus and Neptune; the second is Lilith, Venus and Neptune.
The Grand Trine is a Cosmic Shield against danger. A person who has a large trine in the map is not afraid of any vicissitudes, he has good abilities that can be shown if necessary, and often external conditions help him rush through life more successfully and faster than others. No wonder astrologers call this configuration "Mercedes".
Moon symbolizes a woman, changes, changes, moving, travel, water, liquids. The moon is "responsible" for physical life, therefore it both teaches and protects. The Moon is in Aries in the 5th house conjunct Uranus (just an explosive combination of planets and sign) + harmonious aspects to Mercury, Pluto and Mars. In life, this gives extreme situations on the road - explosions, fires, falls.
The Moon is also at 19 degrees Aries (in the degree of the Sun). A lot of energy is concentrated at this point, it gives a celebrity in life (Selak is listed in the Guinness Book of Records).
What is more important: the influence of the stars or the position of the planets in the horoscope? The position of the planets, of course, determines important fateful qualities, but the stars can exert their influence for a long time.
Mercury in Gemini in conjunction with the star Capella - unpleasant experiences, contradictory situations are possible.
Uranus in the 5th house (love) conjunct star Deneb Algenubi - has a destructive effect on relationships, and travel misfortunes are also possible. However, the negative effect of Deneb Algenubi can be overcome if you find the strength in yourself and unravel the requirements hidden in these events. In any case, this star indicates the impossibility of passively accepting fate and avoiding solving problems.
And what indicators still indicate winning the lottery? There are several of them in the map, I will stop briefly. Moon is the lord of the 8th house in the 5th (excitement, lottery) conn. with Uranus (happy accident) + sextile to Pluto (money).
The map expresses 28, 29th degrees, which gives wealth.
North Node in Taurus in conjunction with Jupiter - happiness, luck, protection in life; several marriages.
The position of Neptune at 29 degrees Leo in conjunction with the star Regulus brings fame and big money. But, characteristic of this star is the downfall that can follow success.
And what factors indicate a large number of marriages? Jupiter in 7th house in Taurus. Uranus in aspect to Mercury (lord of the 7th house of partners) - Uranus likes to change everything, gives unstable marriages. Powerful Uranus pushes a person to gain freedom and the opportunity to live the way he wants.
Neptune plays an important role, strongly expressed in the horoscope. The concept of temptation already lives in Neptune. Neptune trine Venus - the person is "magically attractive". Pluto and Mars (rulers of the 1st house) in aspect to Mercury in the 8th house, this position stimulates sexual desires. Let's remember how successfully I flirted on a plane with a flight attendant))
Why did he give away his money? Black Moon in the 2nd house - periodic bouts of fear of losing everything, being left without a livelihood, or, on the other hand, a complete disregard for money and things. So a person “winds” back and forth: from stinginess to incomprehensible spending, and at different times can behave completely differently (literally throws money away, can, for example, climb onto the roof of a house, throw down a bundle of banknotes and watch how passers-by pick it up), and Frane just handed them out even to strangers (see video).
And the fact that he built the chapel in gratitude to the Virgin Mary also indicates the trine of Lilith to Neptune in the 9th house (the house of God, religion). The position of Neptune in the horoscope is very strong, no matter what happens, faith in God is still great.
What I want to add after looking at the map and video…. lucky… my opinion is that material and spiritual wealth is in continuous interaction. It is very rare that a person who does not have enough money is happy. Money decides a lot, but they will never decide and will not carry out the main thing ... they will not buy love, they will not awaken feelings ... He chose love! Our happiness, the ability to love, to enjoy life is in ourselves. And only we ourselves decide: to thank life or be dissatisfied with it.
Love your life! And let the fire of your love burn, no matter what!
Frana Selak would like to wish long life and good luck!
Luck can smile on anyone, but no one knows when and under what circumstances this will happen. However, there are people who are literally gifted with luck and luck. It is these people who can even fall into the most, of which, it would seem, there is no way out, and get out of the current situation without much stress. Therefore, our rating will show how fate can play with people's lives, in the end, rewarding them for multiple experiences and stresses.
People who have been on the verge of death: nothing but luck
We are surrounded by many people who have their own problems, joys and life stories. But surely not every day you can meet a person who really was on the verge of death and nothing more. In fact, such people still exist, because their most interesting stories were made public by journalists, because the whole world now knows about these lucky people.
Sixteen times lucky John Line
This man is truly the luckiest, because he managed to save his life even after many cases in which his life was in danger. And it all started in early childhood, when John landed unsuccessfully on the ground during a fall from a tree. This resulted in a fracture of the boy's arm, which in itself is not a mortal danger. And the ambulance, in which the guy was driving for medical help, had an accident and John only miraculously survived.
This marked the beginning of further troubles in the life of this man, which, however, only tempered John and did not allow him to be disappointed in himself and life. And this despite the fact that soon 3 more accidents happened to him, a disaster in the mine. A lightning strike completely eliminates the chance of events occurring with John and indicates that fate firmly took hold of this guy, constantly throwing him all new tests, from which John skillfully got out. So, this person is one of the luckiest in the world, since such a number of incidents did not deprive him of either life or faith in luck.
William Post: Life from Millionaire to Pauper
And, although William really lost his money and was left with nothing, he still got into our rating. And all thanks to the fact that this person is simply the luckiest. Even if only because he won $16 million in the lottery. But as you know, money does not always make a person's life happy, because not only and not so much thanks to material well-being people can be happy.
So, after winning the lottery, William was too frivolous about the money he received, because he could not keep such a large amount in his hands, he even drove himself into debt. This happened, as Post himself later admitted, due to the fact that he was too kind to his native people, to whom he gave most of the winnings.
Another important fact from Post's life is the attempts on his life, because where there is a lot of money, there is always a place for envy and a desire to take away the winnings. But this did not become a decisive factor in William's life, and he did not die at all from the hands of a killer, but from respiratory arrest at an advanced age. So, he can really be considered the luckiest on earth, since he experienced everything in life: the joys of wealth, and betrayal, and failure. Agree, not every person manages to live life so colorful and varied.
Frain Selak: lucky loser
The whole life of this person is literally riddled with accidents and emergencies. In what troubles did this man not have to participate before fate rewarded him for everything he had experienced. This Croat has been accustomed all his life to get out of the difficulties that fate throws at him.
He got into accidents of various sizes so many times and each time received only superficial wounds that did not affect Frain in any way.
Frain Selak is one of the happiest people He had to get out of burning, sinking and driving at full speed straight into the abyss of cars. And every time he succeeded. Apparently, Selak has nerves of steel and an unshakable character, because all these accidents did not break him, but only hardened him.
And so, shortly after one of Frain's car accidents, he found out that he had won the lottery. And, moreover, a very tidy sum - a whole million dollars. The Croat managed to dispose of this money properly, and unlike the previous lucky one, did not waste it in vain.
"Unfortunate" or people who continue to live in spite of circumstances
Who said that luck is about getting something (money, house, car)? It must be said that the people that will be discussed can only be called lucky because they have kept, and not acquired. And they saved nothing but their own lives. That is how, despite fatal diseases, infections and other circumstances, these people continue to live and prove by their own example that life itself is luck anyway.
"Nuclear" trip by Tsutomu Yamaguchi
A working visit to Hiroshima was the most dangerous for the Japanese in his entire life. By a fateful coincidence, Tsutomu was in Hiroshima on the very day that the American air force dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The man just at that time was only a few kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, because he suffered from the effects of radiation. But most importantly, Yamaguchi survived.
However, just a couple of days later, he was destined to survive the second American bombing, this time of Tsutomu's native city - Nagasaki. Ironically, at the time of the second bombing, the man was sitting in his boss's office and telling all the details of what happened in Hiroshima. This is perhaps the only person on earth who survived after two nuclear disasters.
Violet Jesop: stepping on the same rake ...
This stewardess, who worked on the largest and most expensive water liners in history, survived the disasters associated with them three times, but still returned to work after each crash.
Probably Violet worked according to the call of the soul, otherwise how to explain her stubborn return to work as a flight attendant after the crash of first the Olympic, then the Titanic itself, and later the Britannic.
In all three cases, the ships received serious damage, as a result of which they could not ensure the normal evacuation of people. Therefore, each catastrophe took the lives of many people. But not the life of Violet, who, despite the impending threat, was able to escape from three ships and remain unharmed.
Video about the luckiest people in the world
Thus, these true stories say that there are people on earth who are the luckiest, because neither life circumstances, nor health problems, nor disasters, nor even the destructive power of natural elements broke them. Remember: nothing is impossible and you can always get a gift from fate.
An elderly Croatian, retired music teacher Frane Selak, who is considered the luckiest person on earth, decided to distribute the amount he won earlier in the lottery to friends and relatives.
In June 2003, he won the equivalent of £600,000 in the lottery and widely celebrated his fifth marriage to a woman 20 years his junior. Then he declared: "Now I will enjoy my life. I feel reborn. I know God has been watching over me all these years."
Now Selak decided that "money can't buy happiness" and returned to a modest life.
He sold his luxurious house on a private island, distributed the money to family and friends, and returned to his modest home in Petrinja, in the center of the country, south of Zagreb.
He spent the rest of the winnings on a hip replacement surgery to make his married life more pleasant, and perhaps a resident of Catholic Croatia will erect a chapel in honor of the Virgin Mary to thank the Virgin for his good luck.
"All I need at my age is Katarina. Money wouldn't change anything," said the retiree, now 81.
"I never thought that I would be lucky to survive in all these encounters with death. The first time I thought that I would be unlucky ... I always thought that I was unlucky, since such situations happened to me at all, but is it worth telling people what they don't want to believe," Selak commented on the seven deadly dangers he survived unscathed.
The seven disasters of Frane Selak
Train and icy river
The first time a Croatian was truly lucky was in 1962, when the train he was traveling from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik derailed and fell into an icy river,
Then seventeen people drowned, and Frane Selak almost died with them. He managed to swim ashore, having received severe hypothermia, shock, bruises and breaking his arm.
Airplane and haystack
A year later, he fell out of a DC-8 aircraft between Zagreb and Rijeka - during the flight, the aircraft door suddenly swung open. As a result of this disaster, 19 people died. Selak landed on a haystack and escaped with shock, bruises and cuts.
bus and river
In 1966, the bus in which he was traveling to the city of Split tilted and fell into the river. Four people died. Selak swam ashore, cut, bruised, and more shocked this time.
burning car
Disaster number four happened to a Croat in 1970. The car in which he was driving on the highway suddenly caught fire. Selak managed to get out of the car a few seconds before the gas tank exploded.
After this incident, his friend began to call the lucky Croat "Lucky". “He told me then,” says Selak. “You can look at everything that happens to you from two sides. Either you are the unluckiest person in the world, or you are the luckiest. "I preferred the latter."
Hair and a faulty pump
Three years later, Frane Selak suddenly lost almost all the hair on his head. A leaky fuel pump squirted gasoline directly onto his car's hot engine, blowing flames through the breather.
In 1995, Frane Selak's sixth crash occurred. On one of the streets of Zagreb, he was accidentally hit by a bus. The lucky Croatian got off with a "light fright" this time too - he received minor bruises and the inevitable shock.
UN truck and mountain gorge
The following year, Selak was driving his car in the mountains when suddenly, as he rounded a curve, he saw a UN truck speeding straight at him.
His Skoda crashed into a road barrier, broke through it and hovered on the edge of a cliff. Selak managed to jump out of the car at the last moment. After a short flight, he landed on a tree, from where he was able to follow the flight into the mountain gorge of his car, which exploded 90 meters below him.
Frane Selak married four times unsuccessfully. After winning the lottery, he philosophically remarked, "I guess my marriages were disasters too." Apparently, the fifth marriage concluded after the lottery win is still successful.
A man with the opposite sign is also known: the most unfortunate Briton, 58-year-old farm worker Mick Vilari, received a total of more than 30 bodily injuries, including fractures of 15 bones. But on the other hand, he is apparently more successful in marriage - at least the chroniclers of Mika Vilari's life do not report any divorces. "Life around him is full of adventures. If something should happen, it only happens to Mick ... He's just one of those people ... You know, when his friends want to know if there is electricity on the fence, they always ask Mika touch. But nothing unsettles him, and he never blames others for his failures. The family misses him, especially the grandchildren. I miss him - he is my stone wall. I can’t find a place without him, "said his wife.
Surely many will agree that life is a complicated thing. As trite as it may sound, it is true. Our faithful assistant is luck. She accompanies someone in career advancement, while someone is more lucky in their personal lives. However, there is also luck, which many of the people consider just a lucky coincidence, an accident. However, when a person's life hangs in the balance, when one wrong step, one wrong movement, or even a spoken word can become an early end to being in this world, absolutely everyone expects some kind of miracle, which is the above luck. Few people manage to cheat death at least once. However, there are those who managed to fool the old woman with a scythe several times. Such people are often referred to as "darlings of fortune."
Frane Selak, the 88-year-old retired music teacher from Croatia who is the subject of this article, is one of the lucky few who have succeeded. According to him, he managed to deceive fate 7 times, having survived several accidents and disasters, while escaping with only minor injuries. Some of the rescues were so miraculous and unimaginable that they ended up in the famous Guinness Book of Records. And already in his old age, the reward for all the trials presented to him by life was a large sum of money won by him in the lottery. Why not the luckiest person in the world?!
short biography
Frane Selak was born in 1929 in what was then Yugoslavia. The birth of the future lucky man happened quite unexpectedly and in an unusual place. The birth took place ... in a boat during one of the father's fishing trips, to which he often went. The baby was also born at seven months old. Vacation at sea was immediately interrupted. The condition of the child did not inspire optimism. The baby was born weak and was on the verge between life and death. The parents took the baby to the hospital, but they felt that the boy could not be saved. But the mother was not at all going to part with her newborn baby. She wrapped him in a shirt and carried him to the church, sprinkling him with holy water. Only after that the condition of the child began to change in a positive direction. Thus, the hand of lady luck already then touched the shoulder of the future unlucky lucky one. Since childhood, Frane was fond of music, so the choice of a future profession was, of course, connected with this particular area of art. He became a music teacher and director of a children's choir. However, fate had prepared for him many deadly trials, which definitely did not allow him to call his life boring.
Case one. History with the train
Frane Selak's games with death began in 1962. In January of that year, he was on a train from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik. Due to the icing of the railway tracks (there was a severe cold), the train derailed and collapsed into an ice-covered river. 17 people were victims of this disaster. Selak miraculously managed to survive, he escaped with hypothermia, bruises and a broken arm. In addition, he saved the life of one elderly passenger.
Case two: airplane
Another unpleasant incident in the life of a Croatian music teacher was an incident on an airplane in 1963. What then happened? A Douglas DC 8 jet airliner flew from Zagreb to Rijeka. Frane, who is not indifferent to the fair sex, decided to have an affair with a flight attendant by unfastening his seat belt. Suddenly there was a depressurization of the cabin and the aircraft door swung open. It turned out that due to dense fog, the Douglas DC 8 accidentally touched the ledge of the mountain, which is why the saloon door opened. Some of the passengers were sucked out, including the stewardess with whom the music teacher wanted to get to know each other better. Fell out of the plane and ladies' man Selak. 19 people were victims of this tragic incident. Frana was miraculously lucky to fall on a large haystack, he escaped with fright and abrasions. The stewardess was also lucky: she fell on the leafy part of the tree. True, it was not possible to get to know the girl better. But he remained safe and sound. This amazing case was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Case three. No luck with buses
The next "adventure" of a Croatian music teacher took place in 1966. This time, the trip by bus, which was heading to the city of Split, turned out to be unsuccessful. The driver of the transport lost control - the bus crashed into the river. Four people were victims of this tragedy. Frana Selak managed to get off the bus and reach the shore. And again he escaped with shock, bruises and abrasions.
Case four. Is a car safer?
After 3 previous unpleasant incidents, Frane Selak decided not to take any more risks and got behind the wheel of his own Skoda car, believing that it would be safer to drive on his own. Do you think it got through this time? Not at all. In 1970, the movement by car turned into another unpleasant incident. On the highway, his car suddenly began to smoke, and then completely caught fire. Frane, without delay, immediately rushed out of the car. A few seconds later, he watched his car's gas tank explode. And once again managed to get off with a few abrasions and a slight shock. The surprised friend Frane, who learned about this incident, could not stand aside and uttered a rather memorable phrase: "You are either the unluckiest or the luckiest person in the world!"
Case five. And got off easy again
Another incident in the life of the unlucky lucky man happened already because of his own oversight. In 1973, there was an unsuccessful attempt to repair the car, as a result of which the fuel pump failed, and Selak was doused with a small portion of fuel, which immediately caught fire. Frane did not receive severe burns, not counting the burnt hair. Got off easy, as they say.
Case six. Trouble continues
The next episode in the fate of the "fortune's favorite" is from the category that happens every day in the life of almost any ordinary citizen of our planet. It was 1995. More than 20 years have passed since the last incident, and Frane Selak considered that the black streak of incidents in his life was over. But it was not there. This time in Zagreb he was accidentally hit by a bus. Fortunately, the 66-year-old Croat, he again escaped with only abrasions and fright.
Case seven. Oh, that Skoda...
The last unpleasant incident in the life of the luckiest man in the world occurred in 1996. And again behind the wheel of the ill-fated Skoda. This time, Frane made a trip through the mountains, through a narrow gorge. Suddenly, after the turn, he was horrified to see that a UN peacekeeping force truck was rushing at him at high speed. Turning sharply to the side, Selak broke through the fence with his car. The car hung on the edge of the cliff. The Croatian jumped out of the car seconds before his car crashed to the bottom of the gorge, where it exploded. And this time it was a fright and scratches. Frane Selak's life was saved by the fact that the seat belt was not fastened.
Further fate
To date, the luckiest person in the world is 88 years old. He is a retired music teacher and lives in Petrinja, south of Zagreb. Life gave him many unpleasant surprises. However, at the end of this path of "luck" real luck awaited him. In 2003, Frane Selak decided to try his luck at the lottery. He ended up hitting the jackpot by winning an amount equal to $1 million. An unheard of reward for the long trials of fate. Some would immediately run to put such money in the bank, while others would start spending it.
Frane Selak, who by that time was 74 years old, decided for himself that he was too old to put money aside. Besides, the old Croat was literally deep in debt. And no one canceled the passion for travel. Having paid off his debts, he spent most of the money on a new house, car and boat, and also married for the fifth time.
In 2010, tired of traveling, Frane returned to Petrinha, sold what he had bought earlier, had a hip replacement surgery, and donated the rest to charity. Today, the 88-year-old pensioner is once again swimming in debt. However, the luckiest person in the world does not regret the money spent right and left. He considers that lucky win a kind of gift for the trials that he had to endure. Including for saving the life of an old woman, when in 1962 the train derailed.
Personal life
As mentioned above, Frane Selak has never been indifferent to the fairer sex. What is the case on the plane, which only miraculously ended for him safely. Apart from his numerous affairs, he was married four times, but all marriages ended in divorce after a while. The last, 5th marriage, was concluded already in old age, some time after that very large monetary gain, and the man is still happy. His fiancee's name is Katharina. She is 20 years younger than Frane. The Croatian pensioner himself considers his wife the biggest success in his life.
