Episode 1

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0:00:02 > 0:00:03A close call.

0:00:03 > 0:00:04A moment of danger...

0:00:04 > 0:00:06when life can hang in the balance.

0:00:06 > 0:00:10- Oh, my God.- A split-second where the outcome can go either way.

0:00:11 > 0:00:13She's alive. It's a miracle, really.

0:00:13 > 0:00:16The difference between disaster and survival.

0:00:16 > 0:00:19He was shouting, "Don't die, Mummy."

0:00:19 > 0:00:23These are the people who have been there and lived to tell the tale.

0:00:23 > 0:00:25- CROWD:- Ooh!

0:00:25 > 0:00:27I thought he'd broken his neck.

0:00:27 > 0:00:28Their instincts and resources,

0:00:28 > 0:00:32coupled with the quick thinking of others, helped to pull them through.

0:00:32 > 0:00:34We were just engulfed in flames.

0:00:34 > 0:00:39And their dramatic experiences recorded on camera.

0:00:39 > 0:00:43I wasn't going to be coming up. It was curtains, it was over.

0:00:43 > 0:00:45It's a day they'll never forget.

0:00:45 > 0:00:47The day they had a close call.

0:01:03 > 0:01:06Today on Close Calls -

0:01:06 > 0:01:09a group of mates queue for a takeaway.

0:01:09 > 0:01:12Then this...

0:01:12 > 0:01:13I didn't have any time to react.

0:01:15 > 0:01:20I just looked down, saw my legs were splayed out in opposite directions.

0:01:23 > 0:01:27And two best friends in a bizarre twist of fate which leaves them

0:01:27 > 0:01:30fighting for their lives in the freezing North Sea.

0:01:31 > 0:01:32My wife was at home, pregnant.

0:01:32 > 0:01:34We had a lot to look forward to in life.

0:01:34 > 0:01:37And you knew you weren't going to be there to do it.

0:01:37 > 0:01:40I said to Benny, "If you do make it, I know you've got your own family,

0:01:40 > 0:01:41"but I need you to bring up my son."

0:01:41 > 0:01:42And he said the same to me.

0:01:46 > 0:01:49Also, terror at 200 feet.

0:01:49 > 0:01:52Oh, my God!

0:01:52 > 0:01:55I was panicking then and I was like, I want to get off.

0:01:55 > 0:01:56Oh, my God, look at that one swing.

0:01:56 > 0:01:58It wasn't screams of excitement any more.

0:01:58 > 0:02:02That's when we realised this has gone majorly wrong.

0:02:02 > 0:02:04Oh, my God, it has actually hit them!

0:02:12 > 0:02:15Yangzhou, China.

0:02:15 > 0:02:20Caught on CCTV, Simon, a young English teacher,

0:02:20 > 0:02:23waits with friends at the counter of a fast food restaurant.

0:02:23 > 0:02:25What happens next is shocking.

0:02:28 > 0:02:31A speeding car crashes straight into the shop.

0:02:31 > 0:02:34It smashes the door off its hinges and throws Simon violently

0:02:34 > 0:02:38onto the bonnet, before crushing his legs against the counter.

0:02:40 > 0:02:41So I am thinking to myself,

0:02:41 > 0:02:43because I couldn't see the bottom of my legs,

0:02:43 > 0:02:45"Please be OK, please be OK."

0:02:47 > 0:02:49Then I couldn't feel anything.

0:02:55 > 0:02:59Simon Halford-Thompson from Grimsby graduated from Leeds University

0:02:59 > 0:03:00and went home to live with his mum.

0:03:00 > 0:03:03Not sure what career path he wanted to take,

0:03:03 > 0:03:06a parental nudge helped him decide.

0:03:06 > 0:03:09My mum was a teacher and it came to sort of August and she said,

0:03:09 > 0:03:12"When I go back to school, if you're still sat around on the

0:03:12 > 0:03:18"sofa doing nothing, well, basically that's not going to happen.

0:03:18 > 0:03:20"So, um, go and get a job."

0:03:21 > 0:03:25To his mum's surprise, he does, in China!

0:03:25 > 0:03:28Simon decides to tag along with a pal going to teach

0:03:28 > 0:03:29English as a foreign language.

0:03:31 > 0:03:34There's a huge demand for English teachers in China

0:03:34 > 0:03:37so I thought why the hell not, I suppose.

0:03:37 > 0:03:42Simon kicks off his career in a remote part of south-west China.

0:03:42 > 0:03:45Only five foreigners in the whole city.

0:03:45 > 0:03:51Myself, a Spanish guy, two Ghanaians and a guy from Chicago in America.

0:03:51 > 0:03:53We were quite a motley crew.

0:03:53 > 0:03:55Dropped in at the deep end,

0:03:55 > 0:03:59Simon teaches children ranging from three to 15 years old.

0:03:59 > 0:04:01It was big classes of 50 students

0:04:01 > 0:04:04and it was my first experience of teaching.

0:04:04 > 0:04:05It was quite intimidating.

0:04:07 > 0:04:10After 18 months, feeling much more settled and confident,

0:04:10 > 0:04:15he takes a new job in Yangzhou, a city in eastern China.

0:04:15 > 0:04:17But Simon's life is about to be turned upside down.

0:04:21 > 0:04:25He goes out to celebrate Chinese New Year with some fellow English

0:04:25 > 0:04:30teachers, including new arrival Natalie, from Chorley in Lancashire.

0:04:30 > 0:04:33Simon had been there a bit longer than I had, so it was nice to

0:04:33 > 0:04:36have kind of a friend there that already knew the ropes.

0:04:36 > 0:04:41Altogether, a group of four young teachers head out that night.

0:04:41 > 0:04:44We had been out to a bar, had a few drinks. Hungry.

0:04:44 > 0:04:48We tried to go to a noodle restaurant on the way home,

0:04:48 > 0:04:51but it was out of noodles, it was shut.

0:04:51 > 0:04:54They settle for a less exotic option.

0:04:54 > 0:04:56So we decided to go get a burger.

0:04:56 > 0:04:59It was pretty empty, so we had to wait a while for them

0:04:59 > 0:05:00to cook the stuff.

0:05:02 > 0:05:05This footage from the restaurant's CCTV cameras shows

0:05:05 > 0:05:07the group at the counter.

0:05:07 > 0:05:10It is a bit blurry but you can just make out Natalie in the centre,

0:05:10 > 0:05:14while Simon is on the right, nearest the entrance to the burger bar.

0:05:17 > 0:05:19The group chat happily while they are waiting.

0:05:19 > 0:05:24Blissfully unaware of the terrible danger that is closing in on them.

0:05:24 > 0:05:25In the street outside,

0:05:25 > 0:05:29another CCTV camera picks up a car speeding down the road.

0:05:30 > 0:05:34The driver loses control and smashes straight into the restaurant.

0:05:36 > 0:05:38CRASHING

0:05:38 > 0:05:40Right into Simon and his friends.

0:05:43 > 0:05:47The first thing that I remember is just hearing this huge crash.

0:05:49 > 0:05:51It just came in so fast.

0:05:51 > 0:05:53Standing with his back to the doorway,

0:05:53 > 0:05:55Simon takes the full brunt of the impact.

0:05:58 > 0:06:00His head and upper body snap back

0:06:00 > 0:06:03as he's thrown violently forward and crushed against the counter.

0:06:07 > 0:06:12I didn't have any time to react. I heard the smash, I think.

0:06:12 > 0:06:14And then...the next thing I know,

0:06:14 > 0:06:19I was sort of sandwiched between this car and the counter.

0:06:21 > 0:06:23And it's all a bit of a blur.

0:06:26 > 0:06:30Amazingly, the car misses Simon's friends.

0:06:30 > 0:06:34The car was maybe five centimetres away from my right leg.

0:06:34 > 0:06:37On the other side of Simon was our other friend

0:06:37 > 0:06:41and he had also managed to get out of the way of the car.

0:06:43 > 0:06:47Simon is being well and truly crushed by the car.

0:06:47 > 0:06:50My top half is sort of completely fine and I sort of look around.

0:06:50 > 0:06:53You can see me on the video, I think, look around.

0:06:54 > 0:06:55I'm sort of thinking to myself,

0:06:55 > 0:06:57because I couldn't see the bottom of my legs,

0:06:57 > 0:06:59"Please be OK, please be OK."

0:06:59 > 0:07:01Then I couldn't feel anything, so didn't know.

0:07:04 > 0:07:06Natalie, she was really panicking,

0:07:06 > 0:07:09like, "What's happened to Simon? What's happened to Simon?"

0:07:09 > 0:07:12I just remember Simon being in a lot of shock.

0:07:12 > 0:07:14He didn't really speak much.

0:07:14 > 0:07:17By now, the driver has staggered out of the car.

0:07:17 > 0:07:19Natalie angrily confronts him.

0:07:19 > 0:07:24I kind of held him there and asked him kind of, "were you driving?

0:07:24 > 0:07:28"Are you drunk?" Both to which he said, "Yes."

0:07:30 > 0:07:32With Simon pinned between the counter and the car,

0:07:32 > 0:07:35his friends urgently try to free him.

0:07:35 > 0:07:38One supports him as another releases the handbrake,

0:07:38 > 0:07:39gently rolling the car away.

0:07:42 > 0:07:45Now Simon can see the full horror of his injuries.

0:07:46 > 0:07:51I just looked down, saw my legs...

0:07:51 > 0:07:53were splayed out in opposite directions and said,

0:07:53 > 0:07:56"I'm not going to be able to stand up here.

0:07:56 > 0:07:58"You're going to have to put me, you have to lay me down on the floor."

0:08:00 > 0:08:03There was a bone sticking out of one of his legs.

0:08:03 > 0:08:05Looking at them, I was kind of wondering

0:08:05 > 0:08:08whether he would walk again.

0:08:08 > 0:08:10The emergency services arrive

0:08:10 > 0:08:13and Simon is taken to hospital in an ambulance.

0:08:13 > 0:08:15Natalie and another friend ride with him.

0:08:17 > 0:08:20In the ambulance he was kind of worried about could someone

0:08:20 > 0:08:23get in touch with his mum and tell her.

0:08:23 > 0:08:26So my mum got woken up in the middle of the night by a phone call

0:08:26 > 0:08:29from somebody she'd never spoken to before saying,

0:08:29 > 0:08:30"Simon's been hit by a car.

0:08:30 > 0:08:32"Simon's been hurt by a car."

0:08:33 > 0:08:35Simon's rushed in for emergency surgery.

0:08:35 > 0:08:40He's terrified about what will have to be done during the operation

0:08:40 > 0:08:43and doesn't speak enough of the language to communicate fully.

0:08:44 > 0:08:46Friends and colleagues are at his side.

0:08:48 > 0:08:53My director of studies at my job, she was an English girl from Hull.

0:08:53 > 0:08:55And the last thing I said to her, before I went

0:08:55 > 0:08:58into the operating theatre was, "Don't let them take my leg."

0:09:01 > 0:09:03When he comes round, this is what he sees.

0:09:05 > 0:09:08Simon has multiple breaks to the bones in both lower legs.

0:09:08 > 0:09:12The surgeons have knitted them back together with metal plates and rods.

0:09:14 > 0:09:15It was a lot to take in,

0:09:15 > 0:09:19particularly with only a basic grasp of the Chinese language.

0:09:20 > 0:09:23I remember reeling off a list of questions when I had a

0:09:23 > 0:09:28translator there, sort of, how long are my legs going to take to heal?

0:09:28 > 0:09:31Will I be able to walk, will I be able to run?

0:09:31 > 0:09:35Doctors tell Simon he will be confined to a hospital bed for some months.

0:09:36 > 0:09:39With the incident shown on Chinese TV,

0:09:39 > 0:09:42the locals take Simon to their hearts.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45There were people coming in, just because they'd seen me on the news.

0:09:47 > 0:09:51My room was door-to-door bouquets.

0:09:51 > 0:09:55It's three-and-a-half months before Simon first struggles to his feet.

0:09:55 > 0:09:58It was nice to be able to see out of the window,

0:09:58 > 0:10:03that was tantalisingly out of reach for this whole time.

0:10:03 > 0:10:07With just a view of the sky, maybe I could see the top of an apartment building or something.

0:10:07 > 0:10:11Very liberating not being on my back, definitely.

0:10:11 > 0:10:14The drunk driver who hit Simon is banned from driving

0:10:14 > 0:10:16and jailed for three months.

0:10:16 > 0:10:21But Simon's life is going to be affected for a lot longer than that.

0:10:21 > 0:10:24Once he's discharged, Simon's mum flies out to help them cope

0:10:24 > 0:10:27until doctors remove the pins from his legs.

0:10:28 > 0:10:32In all, it's nine months before he is fully back on his feet

0:10:32 > 0:10:33and walking properly.

0:10:35 > 0:10:37But he's determined not to let the experience spoil

0:10:37 > 0:10:40the memory of his good times teaching in China,

0:10:40 > 0:10:43and he knows things could have been a lot worse.

0:10:43 > 0:10:47I try not to think, I suppose, too much about what could have happened.

0:10:47 > 0:10:52But I suppose at the back of my mind I know that I could have died.

0:10:54 > 0:10:56And if I'm given an opportunity to do something new,

0:10:56 > 0:10:58I'll go and do it.

0:11:02 > 0:11:04- Coming up...- Oh, my God.

0:11:04 > 0:11:05Disbelief on the ground....

0:11:06 > 0:11:11- Oh, my God.- ..as shocking events unfold in the air.

0:11:11 > 0:11:13It hit 'em!

0:11:22 > 0:11:25Dundee, Scotland.

0:11:25 > 0:11:29A few miles offshore, the RNLI and coastguard helicopter are racing

0:11:29 > 0:11:33against time to save two men lost and adrift in the freezing North Sea...

0:11:34 > 0:11:39..after a series of unlucky events escalates into a fight for survival.

0:11:39 > 0:11:43The body was starting to shut down. We're not going to get to shore.

0:11:43 > 0:11:46I think the biggest thing was the kids that kept us going.

0:11:52 > 0:11:55Lifelong friends Gav Smith and Benny Thompson

0:11:55 > 0:11:57grew up together in Dundee.

0:11:57 > 0:12:00When they're not working away on offshore oil rigs

0:12:00 > 0:12:04with each other, they are spending time with their young families.

0:12:04 > 0:12:09I've known Benny for, what... 20 years plus, anyway.

0:12:09 > 0:12:11We've been friends since we were kids.

0:12:11 > 0:12:13We were at school together.

0:12:13 > 0:12:15We've done quite a lot of silly things together.

0:12:15 > 0:12:18We were best man at each other's wedding.

0:12:18 > 0:12:20Done pretty much everything together that you could do!

0:12:21 > 0:12:23And that includes jet skiing.

0:12:23 > 0:12:26One cold November day, Gav and Benny,

0:12:26 > 0:12:28along with two other friends, Rob and Paul,

0:12:28 > 0:12:33head out into the Tay Estuary, close to where it meets the North Sea.

0:12:33 > 0:12:37They dressed in all the right safety gear for the wintry conditions.

0:12:37 > 0:12:39The water temperature would be maybe freezing,

0:12:39 > 0:12:42or just above freezing. At the end of the day, this is November.

0:12:42 > 0:12:45After a morning messing about on the waves

0:12:45 > 0:12:47and 500 metres from the coastline,

0:12:47 > 0:12:52Benny's jet ski breaks down, so he hangs onto Gav's to stay afloat.

0:12:52 > 0:12:54Their friend Paul heads back to shore,

0:12:54 > 0:12:57towing Benny's broken ski behind him.

0:12:57 > 0:13:00But moments after, as Paul disappears over the horizon,

0:13:00 > 0:13:03Gav's jet ski breaks down, too.

0:13:03 > 0:13:06Their other mate Rob is still with them on his machine, but it

0:13:06 > 0:13:10means there are three men and just one working jet ski out on the water.

0:13:12 > 0:13:16So we decided to say, "Look," to Rob, "head back in towards the pier.

0:13:16 > 0:13:19"And get Paul and come back out with your two jet skis.

0:13:19 > 0:13:22"Then I can go on the back of Rob's, Benny'll

0:13:22 > 0:13:25"go on the back of Paul's and we will tow mine back in."

0:13:25 > 0:13:27Everybody thought, you know, this kind of thing happens every week.

0:13:27 > 0:13:30There's always a problem with these things. We seem to get through it.

0:13:30 > 0:13:32And this was just another one of these things.

0:13:32 > 0:13:37So Rob left us to go back to the pier.

0:13:37 > 0:13:39And that's when things started to go really wrong.

0:13:45 > 0:13:48Gav and Benny are too heavy to both stay on the broken jet ski,

0:13:48 > 0:13:50so take it in turns,

0:13:50 > 0:13:53one sitting whilst the other is in the water, clinging to the back.

0:13:54 > 0:13:59The sea conditions aren't great and there is a stronger tide than usual.

0:13:59 > 0:14:01They start getting dragged out towards the North Sea,

0:14:01 > 0:14:03far away from their original position.

0:14:04 > 0:14:09Although it only takes mates Rob and Paul 15 minutes to come back on their skis,

0:14:09 > 0:14:11by then Gav and Benny are out of sight.

0:14:11 > 0:14:15We could see them looking for us, but just they couldn't get to us.

0:14:15 > 0:14:17They didn't know where we were. It's a vast area.

0:14:17 > 0:14:20And it's about to get even worse.

0:14:20 > 0:14:23Gav and Benny are being sucked towards a potentially lethal stretch

0:14:23 > 0:14:27of water, the Abertay Sands, where the North Sea meets the Firth of Tay.

0:14:30 > 0:14:33It's like a washing machine, because that's basically what it

0:14:33 > 0:14:36does, this part of the river can swallow up a boat, you know.

0:14:38 > 0:14:41I don't think there's been many people that have gone from one

0:14:41 > 0:14:44side to the other in the water and survived six, seven metre high waves.

0:14:44 > 0:14:49When you're just a head in the water, it's frightening, terrifying.

0:14:49 > 0:14:53What's more, the jet ski is being thrown around so much in the violent swell,

0:14:53 > 0:14:58it's proving impossible for Gav and Benny to cling on any longer.

0:14:58 > 0:15:00As they are wearing life vests and dry suits,

0:15:00 > 0:15:03they take their chances, alone in the big waves.

0:15:03 > 0:15:07So we decided, let's let go of the jet ski and, er,

0:15:07 > 0:15:09basically hold on to one another as tight as we can.

0:15:11 > 0:15:15Letting go of that jet ski was the hardest thing we've had to do.

0:15:15 > 0:15:18Meanwhile, their friends Rob and Paul have raised the alarm

0:15:18 > 0:15:23and RAF and police helicopters have started to search the Tay Estuary,

0:15:23 > 0:15:25along with a local ferry and the inshore lifeboat.

0:15:26 > 0:15:30Gav and Benny have now been in the water for two-and-a-half hours.

0:15:30 > 0:15:34The RNLI lifeboat, based at nearby Arbroath, is scrambled.

0:15:34 > 0:15:37As conditions worsened and the light was fading, that was when we

0:15:37 > 0:15:40kind of realised that, you know, these guys are in a lot of trouble.

0:15:43 > 0:15:46Later, as the rescue teams desperately search,

0:15:46 > 0:15:49Gav and Benny know they can't last much longer.

0:15:50 > 0:15:53I put my head in the water and it was warm.

0:15:53 > 0:15:56And I knew that it was a sign of hypothermia.

0:15:56 > 0:15:59That's when we knew that the body was starting to shut down.

0:15:59 > 0:16:02We're in the middle of nowhere. We're not going to get to shore.

0:16:02 > 0:16:03Very, very hard.

0:16:14 > 0:16:16Cardiff city centre.

0:16:16 > 0:16:20A student films his friends on a 200-foot tall fairground ride.

0:16:20 > 0:16:24It towers above a seasonal attraction called Winter Wonderland.

0:16:24 > 0:16:27It's December and strong winds are causing some of the empty

0:16:27 > 0:16:30swings to move dangerously close to the riders.

0:16:31 > 0:16:36Then...suddenly, carriages begin to swing round and collide.

0:16:36 > 0:16:38People on the ground start to scream.

0:16:38 > 0:16:41The empty swings are going crazy.

0:16:51 > 0:16:5517-year-old hairdressing student Brogan Chapman knew what

0:16:55 > 0:16:59she wanted to be from a young age, growing up in Newport, South Wales.

0:16:59 > 0:17:03I always liked playing, messing around with my nan's hair

0:17:03 > 0:17:04or my sister's hair.

0:17:04 > 0:17:08So she decides to go to college and study hairdressing.

0:17:08 > 0:17:09Doing Hairdressing Level One.

0:17:09 > 0:17:12Everyone on my course are really nice people,

0:17:12 > 0:17:13I get along with them great.

0:17:14 > 0:17:16So much so, that coming up to Christmas,

0:17:16 > 0:17:20Brogan and the rest of her classmates decide to put their scissors

0:17:20 > 0:17:23away for the day and travel to Cardiff to go ice skating together.

0:17:25 > 0:17:27They head for the Winter Wonderland,

0:17:27 > 0:17:31a temporary festive fairground set up in the city centre.

0:17:31 > 0:17:34They book a slot on the ice to go skating in an hour's time

0:17:34 > 0:17:38and in the meantime, decide to see what else the fair has to offer -

0:17:38 > 0:17:41checking out the 200 foot high Sky Swing.

0:17:41 > 0:17:45But Brogan's friend Jonathan isn't keen on heights.

0:17:45 > 0:17:48When I'd seen the Sky Swing, my chin hit the floor

0:17:48 > 0:17:49because it was so tall.

0:17:49 > 0:17:52We was like, "Come on, it'll be fine. Just give it a go." You know?

0:17:53 > 0:17:55What's the worst that could happen?

0:17:56 > 0:17:59But Jonathan decides to keep his feet firmly on the ground,

0:17:59 > 0:18:03while Brogan and a few of her friends decide to have a go.

0:18:03 > 0:18:06He takes his phone and out and begins filming the action

0:18:06 > 0:18:08so the others can watch it back later.

0:18:10 > 0:18:13Jonathan's footage shows Brogan sitting next to her friend

0:18:13 > 0:18:15in one of the two main carriages.

0:18:15 > 0:18:17She's beginning to feel a bit nervous,

0:18:17 > 0:18:21but manages a wave for the camera. BROGAN SQUEALS

0:18:21 > 0:18:25As the ride circles, Brogan's friends commentate.

0:18:25 > 0:18:26- Oh, my God.- What is going on?

0:18:28 > 0:18:31All you can hear was like the giggles and the laughter.

0:18:31 > 0:18:35We didn't think anything could go wrong.

0:18:38 > 0:18:41Oh, my God. That's so horrible.

0:18:41 > 0:18:44Oh, my God, look, it's going up.

0:18:44 > 0:18:47The higher they get, the more Brogan notices

0:18:47 > 0:18:50just how much the icy December wind has picked up.

0:18:50 > 0:18:54It was quite cold and windy. It was really windy.

0:18:56 > 0:19:00Everything seemed to be going quite smoothly until we started noticing

0:19:00 > 0:19:07that the empty swings were starting to swing more back and forth.

0:19:07 > 0:19:09And it started looking a bit dangerous.

0:19:09 > 0:19:11They're looking down. How can you look down?

0:19:11 > 0:19:14Like, oh, my God! The empty cart was then like swinging back.

0:19:14 > 0:19:18It was getting closer. And then getting closer.

0:19:19 > 0:19:22Oh, my God, look at that one swing.

0:19:22 > 0:19:24- GIRL:- The empty swings are going crazy.

0:19:24 > 0:19:27The strong wind is playing havoc with the unoccupied carriages.

0:19:27 > 0:19:30Because there's no-one in them to weigh them down, they're being

0:19:30 > 0:19:34blown around dangerously close to the now petrified riders.

0:19:34 > 0:19:36Looks like it is going to hit her.

0:19:36 > 0:19:38We seen then it was getting closer and closer.

0:19:38 > 0:19:42We were all trying to kick it away, but it started catching as well.

0:19:42 > 0:19:46The cart then actually did hit me.

0:19:46 > 0:19:48See, look! It hit 'em.

0:19:49 > 0:19:51Oh, my God, it actually has hit them!

0:19:53 > 0:19:55Brogan's chair is hit by an empty carriage,

0:19:55 > 0:19:57as Jonathan's footage shows.

0:19:57 > 0:19:58It swings right into them.

0:20:01 > 0:20:03Another compartment gets hit,

0:20:03 > 0:20:06spinning the terrified occupants 180 degrees.

0:20:07 > 0:20:10The blustery wind has turned this funfair ride into a terrifying

0:20:10 > 0:20:14experience for all the people on it and they're 200 feet in the sky.

0:20:17 > 0:20:18It wasn't screams of excitement any more.

0:20:18 > 0:20:20You could tell the sort of difference.

0:20:20 > 0:20:23So it was quite shocking for us standing on the ground.

0:20:23 > 0:20:26It's hit them!

0:20:26 > 0:20:30That's when we realised, OK, this has gone majorly wrong.

0:20:30 > 0:20:34Then I started crying cos I didn't know what was going to happen.

0:20:34 > 0:20:36If those carts could have hit us,

0:20:36 > 0:20:40I was thinking, what if the wires snap on the swing?

0:20:40 > 0:20:43I could be dead. I've come out to have a good day, go ice skating.

0:20:43 > 0:20:45The chairs begin to swing out of control

0:20:45 > 0:20:50and the screams of the riders and those watching echo around the park.

0:20:50 > 0:20:52The ride is immediately stopped.

0:20:52 > 0:20:55Oh, my God. They've actually stopped the ride.

0:20:55 > 0:20:58Brogan and the others are now left dangling nearly 200 feet in the air.

0:20:58 > 0:21:03It's a few agonising minutes before they are brought back down to earth.

0:21:03 > 0:21:08And when we reached the bottom, oh, that was a relief.

0:21:08 > 0:21:09Although shaken by the encounter,

0:21:09 > 0:21:13Brogan and all the other riders have escaped unharmed.

0:21:13 > 0:21:16- It hit 'em!- Oh, my God, it has actually hit them.

0:21:16 > 0:21:21I feel extremely lucky that I am now sat here.

0:21:31 > 0:21:35Life-threatening situations often start as series of small incidents,

0:21:35 > 0:21:39but then built into looming disasters that nobody could have foreseen.

0:21:39 > 0:21:41As we know from Gav and Benny.

0:21:48 > 0:21:51Back near Dundee, for lifelong friends Gav Smith

0:21:51 > 0:21:55and Benny Thompson, what started as a fun day out on jet skis

0:21:55 > 0:21:57has resulted in the two being lost and adrift

0:21:57 > 0:22:00in the icy waters of the North Sea.

0:22:03 > 0:22:06They've been in the water for nearly two-and-a-half hours now

0:22:06 > 0:22:08and are running out of energy.

0:22:08 > 0:22:11Holding on to each other in the huge swell is becoming impossible.

0:22:12 > 0:22:15Cos every time a wave came, doesn't matter how much strength

0:22:15 > 0:22:18you put holding on to your friend, you can't hold on to them.

0:22:18 > 0:22:20You'd be separated and you'd have maybe seven or eight seconds

0:22:20 > 0:22:22to get to one another for the next one to come.

0:22:24 > 0:22:26The two dads are starting to feel

0:22:26 > 0:22:28there is no way out of their predicament.

0:22:28 > 0:22:31Their thoughts turn to their families.

0:22:36 > 0:22:40I think the biggest thing was the kids, that kept us going.

0:22:42 > 0:22:44Jessica and Ben have those little songs that they sing.

0:22:44 > 0:22:47And it's, "We love you lots like jelly tots."

0:22:47 > 0:22:49And I think that was...

0:22:49 > 0:22:52that was one of the biggest things that kept us going. For sure.

0:22:53 > 0:22:57Every time we would come out of a wave, you know, I would say the

0:22:57 > 0:23:00first part, "love you lots" and Gav would shout back, "like jelly tots".

0:23:01 > 0:23:05As stupid as it sounds, it means the world to us. And it always will.

0:23:08 > 0:23:09With darkness closing in,

0:23:09 > 0:23:13coastguard control draw up an area based on predicted currents, where

0:23:13 > 0:23:17they want all parties to concentrate the search for Gav and Benny.

0:23:17 > 0:23:21But experienced local lifeboat skipper Tommy Yule has

0:23:21 > 0:23:23a feeling he knows where they might be.

0:23:23 > 0:23:28Having been a fisherman, I know the local area, the tides,

0:23:28 > 0:23:31what the sea is doing, what the tides are doing.

0:23:31 > 0:23:33I said to my navigator, tell the coastguards that

0:23:33 > 0:23:36I want to do my own search first along the surf line.

0:23:39 > 0:23:45Gav and Benny have now drifted about five miles south of the violent swell.

0:23:45 > 0:23:47They're only alive at all because they're wearing dry suits

0:23:47 > 0:23:50which help to keep their body warmth in.

0:23:50 > 0:23:54But the effect can only last so long. They're losing heat and losing hope.

0:23:57 > 0:24:00I put my head in the water and it was warm.

0:24:00 > 0:24:03And I knew that that was a sign of hypothermia, you know,

0:24:03 > 0:24:06your body feels the cold as warm.

0:24:06 > 0:24:09That's when we knew the body was starting to shut down.

0:24:09 > 0:24:12We're in the middle of nowhere. We're not going to get to shore.

0:24:12 > 0:24:17It's now dark. Very, very hard. Very, very hard.

0:24:17 > 0:24:22Just knowing that my wife was at home pregnant with my youngest son.

0:24:22 > 0:24:25And we had a lot to look forward to in life.

0:24:26 > 0:24:30And you knew you weren't going to be there to do it. It was, it was hard.

0:24:30 > 0:24:32That's why I said to Benny, "If you do make it,

0:24:32 > 0:24:35"I know you've got your own family but I need you to bring up my son."

0:24:35 > 0:24:36And vice versa, he said the same to me.

0:24:41 > 0:24:45But finally after more than three hours in the water

0:24:45 > 0:24:47when it feels that like all hope has gone,

0:24:47 > 0:24:49something appears on the horizon.

0:24:49 > 0:24:53And Gav just turned round and he says, "I can see a light."

0:24:55 > 0:24:58That moment was just... absolutely amazing.

0:24:58 > 0:25:00It was like looking at the end of the tunnel.

0:25:00 > 0:25:03Benny musters up all the breath left in his lungs

0:25:03 > 0:25:05and grabs the whistle attached to his life vest.

0:25:05 > 0:25:07Just blew as hard as I could.

0:25:07 > 0:25:09Kept blowing and blowing and blowing

0:25:09 > 0:25:11and eventually we seen the light turning.

0:25:11 > 0:25:15This massive halogen light just turned to us.

0:25:15 > 0:25:16It was just like, wow.

0:25:16 > 0:25:20A massive sense of euphoria that we've got these guys. We've got them.

0:25:20 > 0:25:22After three agonising hours,

0:25:22 > 0:25:26Gav and Benny are finally hauled out of the water.

0:25:26 > 0:25:30This photograph shows the trained first aiders warming them with blankets.

0:25:35 > 0:25:38As they were drifting in and out of consciousness,

0:25:38 > 0:25:40they were that sort of relieved to be saved.

0:25:40 > 0:25:43I don't think they realised how bad they were.

0:25:43 > 0:25:45How tired they were and hypothermic they were.

0:25:47 > 0:25:49This footage from the lifeboat captures the moment Gav

0:25:49 > 0:25:53and Benny are winched to safety by the coastguard helicopter.

0:25:53 > 0:25:56It's a moment of joy for the lifeboat crew.

0:25:56 > 0:25:58- TOMMY:- As soon as they were away in the helicopter,

0:25:58 > 0:26:00it was such a sigh of relief from the crew.

0:26:00 > 0:26:04We actually had a group hug on the deck of the boat,

0:26:04 > 0:26:07just saved these two guys from near death.

0:26:09 > 0:26:14At the Ninewells Hospital, in Dundee, Benny and Gav are recovering well.

0:26:14 > 0:26:19And the doctor came in and he took my temperature and stuff.

0:26:19 > 0:26:22And I can only remember him saying, it's that absolutely amazing

0:26:22 > 0:26:24how these guys are alive with the temperature they're at,

0:26:24 > 0:26:26the body core temperature.

0:26:26 > 0:26:29After a tearful reunion with their families who had been waiting

0:26:29 > 0:26:34anxiously for news, the boys are reunited with each other.

0:26:34 > 0:26:36I got up and walked through to Gavin's cubicle.

0:26:36 > 0:26:38And the first thing I said to him was,

0:26:38 > 0:26:42"Gavin, why is it always me and you? Always?"

0:26:42 > 0:26:44And he just came in and he just gave us a big cuddle and both of us

0:26:44 > 0:26:46just burst into tears, you know?

0:26:49 > 0:26:54Incredibly, Gav and Benny have no lasting effects from their experience in the water.

0:26:54 > 0:26:58To remind them of their lucky escape, they've both had tattoos done of

0:26:58 > 0:27:02the words they repeated continuously to help keep each other alive.

0:27:03 > 0:27:08They've also since signed up as RNLI volunteers, inspired by Tommy

0:27:08 > 0:27:10and their other rescuers' actions that day.

0:27:11 > 0:27:13That that man went out in the dark

0:27:13 > 0:27:16and took his boat into somewhere that he probably shouldn't have went,

0:27:16 > 0:27:20put his own life and his crew at a risk

0:27:20 > 0:27:24and pretty much landed on top of us.

0:27:24 > 0:27:27That's an experience that no-one can buy.

0:27:27 > 0:27:31To compare other shouts, I think that will be one that will

0:27:31 > 0:27:35stick out for the rest of my life. And the crew as well.

0:27:35 > 0:27:39Both families are incredibly grateful.

0:27:39 > 0:27:40Absolute heroes.

0:27:40 > 0:27:43And without them, we definitely wouldn't be here.

0:27:55 > 0:27:58Some very emotional stories today on Close Calls.

0:27:58 > 0:28:00Join us for more next time.