
Sergey Ananov: Two days on ice with three polar bears - ColinWright
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34281218
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usaphp
It's one of the best stories I've read on HN in a wild.

My question is - why did not he take off his life suite as soon as he get out
of the water? Since t was filled with water, having it on your body will only
increase effect of freezing, no?

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ColinWright
I've worn a survival suit. They are reasonably well insulated, and proof
against wind and water. Having got the excess water out of it, the remaining
water will warm up and act as further insulation against losing heat through
conduction. The clothing under the suit holds the water, so you don't lose
heat by convection, and the suit is a rubberized fabric, so it doesn't lose
heat by radiation.

Wearing it gives him a chance. Without it he would lose heat by all three
methods, and probably die in a few hours.

~~~
gnufrra
I have never seen a survival suit. But you mention convection. I wear a
wetsuit while surfing in Western Canada (Tofino, BC). So if the suit traps
water than it probably start acting like a wetsuit[1] .

[1]
[http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_spring2011.web.dir/nicole_wa...](http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/212_spring2011.web.dir/nicole_wade/thermodynamics.html)

~~~
ColinWright
Exactly so, but a survival suit is intended to be a dry suit (when used
properly) so the mechanism is not identical. However, when water _does_ get
inside, it heats up, gets held in place by your regular clothing underneath,
and then the suit acts like a hybrid.

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rasz_pl
>Ideas such as: Send helicopters, not planes, to look for survivors

low range

>•Make survival suits that you can actually fly in

no clue about that one

>•Attach mini radio beacons to the suits or life rafts

Breitling emergency watch from top gear comes to mind

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toothbrush
"Make survival suits that you can actually fly in"

refers to

"Then I undid my safety belt and opened the door. Instantly I was up to my
neck in icy water. I was wearing a survival suit, but only around my legs and
waist - the top part hung loose because I find it quite impossible to fly with
one covering my arms and upper body."

..as i read it. Incredible story!

~~~
rasz_pl
I mean Im not familiar with survival suits nor flying planes, so cant comment
if there are any currently on the market fitting his requirements.

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tobbyb
First he manages to 'semicrash' his helicopter in icy waters, then retrieve
his life raft from beneath the sinking heli in freezing water, then survive in
extreme weather for 36 hours with half a litre of water and a few protein
bars, and the energy to stave off 3 polar bears!

You obviously have to have presence of mind, some training I suspect, but also
dollops of luck. What if the polar bears were a bit more hungry, a bit more
determined?

What a great read! Kudos and a big congratulations to Sergev Ananov for
surviving this! What a relief for his family and friends and I don't think
they are going to let him try again, at least not without a crew.

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brc
One of my friends does oil exploration work in remote places. Just sent me an
email from north of the Arctic Circle off the coast of Norway.

Anyway, he frequently has to do emergency helicopter evac training, and has
shown me the pictures. They have x amount of time to escape from a helicopter
chassis which is rolled over and dunked upside down into a tank full of
freezing water. I don't remember any of the numbers, but I have seen the
pictures and it doesn't look like fun at all.

Ironically he used to work on land but that started getting too risky because
of where the majority of the work is. Shows how bad it was getting to
volunteer for helicopter insertions into a workplace in the North Sea.

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pjmozart
Here's a fascinating 10-min audio interview with BBC Outlook's Jo Fidgen a
month back:
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02z7xl6](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02z7xl6)

