Anne left the journey while they were in the Bahamas but her spot was soon taken by 22-year-old student, Robin Williams.
On 15 June 1972, things took a bad turn for the passengers when the Lucette was attacked by killer whales.
Having recently set sail from the Galapagos Islands, the boat sunk within minutes and the family and Williams had to get into an inflatable life raft along with a fibreglass dinghy.
He was just a teen when they sailed around the world. (LADbible TV/YouTube)This then saw them spend 38 long days lost at sea despite only having water to last 10 and emergency food rations for just three.
Years later, Douglas shared details of the unbelievable ordeal with LADbible, including the eerie pact he made with his family.
On the very first day when things went wrong, the Robertsons and Williams made a deal that if things really got to the worst point, they would still never eat each other.
Thankfully, young Douglas had remembered learning about drinking turtle blood from the novel South by Java Head, which ended up saving their lives.
The family ended up hunting animals, eating dried turtle meat and drinking their blood – even catching and eating a five foot shark at one point.
The family on the Lucette. (The Last Voyage of the Lucette/ Douglas Robertson)"You've got instinct, we knew that the liver of the turtle was poisonous. Never read it, you just looked at it and knew you couldn't eat it, whereas the liver of the shark you could eat it,” he explained. "You've got this innate ability and you touch it in a situation like this.
“I’ve read other great survival stories where people have had the same experience and realisation comes to them what you can and can't do."
Eventually, the stranded group were spotted by a Japanese fishing trawler after they sent up a distress flare to get the boat's attention.
Published 15:28 23 May 2024 GMT+1
Brit who survived Tunisia beach attack played dead in order to make it out alive
It has nearly been nine years since 39 people were shot dead on the beach
Jess Battison
Nearly nine years ago, 38 people were gunned down and killed with 39 others suffering injuries on Tunisia Beach.
On 26 June 2015, a terrorist attack struck the tourist resort of Port El Kantaoui in Sousse.
22-year-old Tunisian electrical engineering student, Seifeddine Rezgui, opened fire on the beach as so-called Islamic State group (IS) took claim of the attack. The gunman had hidden a gun under a beach umbrella and threw grenades onto the tourist-packed beach outside two hotels.
There were 30 UK citizens among those killed and one Brit says she played dead in order to survive the horrific attack.
30 Brits were among those who died. (FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)
Following that terrifying day in Tunisia, Angela Evans told the BBC how she and her friend tried to trick Rezgui into thinking they were already dead so he wouldn’t target them.
The woman from Norfolk described: “We both looked up, stood up, there was this man there in black, several rows of sun loungers away just stood there with his huge gun moving round all the people shooting them, just killing, murdering them.”
She continued her harrowing account: “You can't run, you're an open target running, he was shooting anyone on their feet as well as people on sun loungers, he was just killing them.
"So we both at the same time, [said] play dead, we just fell to the ground, faces in the sand. The shooting continued. He just kept on shooting, it was coming nearer and nearer. Then his feet were at the side of me. You don't move, because you're next. You just pray to God.”
She played dead to survive. (BBC)
And it wasn’t over yet, as she added: “Then there was this noise, this heavy clicking noise, into the sand fell part of the gun, a magazine... You still have to pretend you're dead. And then click again. He put more bullets in.
"And then there was a noise. I don't know what noise, just a noise. I could feel him move and the shooting started again."
Angela said once she heard him leave the beach and move towards a hotel, they ran away. Staff in a different hotel hid the friends in an office until it was finally over and police had shot Rezgui dead.
Tour operator, TUI, reached a settlement with families of holidaymakers caught up in the terror attack in 2022. The claimants alleged that the company was responsible for safety and security breaches at the resort.
TUI denied this but, ahead of a trial, the law firm representing more than 80 claimants released a joint statement stating they had reached a settlement 'without admission of liability or fault', bringing the legal action to an end.Featured Image Credit: Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/BBC
Topics: Terrorism, UK News, Crime, World News, Travel
Jess Battison
Updated 14:42 4 Sep 2024 GMT+1Published 14:43 4 Sep 2024 GMT+1
Woman made chilling joke as her plane was crashing before surviving 192 hours alone in the Vietnamese jungle
Annette Herfkens survived eight days in the jungle following the fatal crash
Olivia Burke
As the plane which Annette Herfkens and her fiancé were travelling on suddenly started to nosedive as they flew over the Vietnamese jungle, she made a joke in the hopes of calming her other half's nerves.
But at the time, the Dutch author, now 63, had no idea how much her words would come back to haunt her.
She ended up being the sole survivor of a horror plane crash in November 1992 and miraculously managed to persevere in the wilderness for another eight days - despite being gravely injured - before she was eventually rescued.
Annette and her partner of 13 years, Willem van der Pas, were among the 26 passengers and six crew members who were onboard Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 when it smashed into a mountaintop en route to Nha Trang Airport.
After running into a spot of bad weather, the Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft descended to a dangerous altitude, slammed into trees which lined the ridge of the Ô Kha mountain in Vietnam and crashed.
Annette was the only one to make it out of the jungle alive, and later penned a poignant book regarding her dance with death more than three decades ago - detailing how she lost her beloved fiancé as they headed on a romantic getaway.
Sole plane crash survivor reveals 192 hour ordeal alone in jungle
CNN
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 32 secondsVolume 90%
Annette had met Willem - who she fondly refers to as Pasje - back in the Netherlands when they both attended Leiden University, and said they quickly 'knew they were destined to get married' to one another.
Annette was working as a trader while her boyfriend was a banker, and they were both regularly sent abroad for work.
In 1992, she was based in Madrid, while Willem was out in Vietnam - so they organised a reunion.
The trader flew out to Ho Chi Minh City to meet her other half, who then surprised her with a five-day trip to the coastal city of Nha Trang, which meant Annette had to hop back on another plane.
Speaking to the New York Post in 2016, she said: "I was excited for the surprise getaway. But I felt so claustrophobic, I shuddered as we boarded the cramped Vietnam Airlines plane."
Annette recalled how she had even asked Willem whether they could take an alternative mode of transport, but he informed her that it would take too long, whereas the flight was only quick.
So, albeit a little 'nervous', the trader took her seat on the plane.
Annette Herfkens was the sole survivor of the crash (Annette Herfkens)
Around 50 minutes into the journey, Annette explained that the plane suddenly 'experienced a tremendous drop' which seemed to alarm Willem, so she decided to crack a joke to put him at ease.
At the time, she was blissfully unaware it would be one of the last things she ever said to him.
Recalling their final conversation, she continued: "'Of course, a sh*tty little toy plane drops like this!' I said, reaching for his hand. 'It’s just an air pocket — don’t worry'.
"But he was right to worry. We dropped again. Someone screamed. It went pitch-black. Seconds later, we made impact."
Although she 'doesn't remember exactly what happened', Annette assumes that she was thrown around the aircraft - causing her to sustain a rang of serious injuries to her head and limbs.
She was not wearing a seatbelt when the incident occurred - but she later found out this likely saved her life, as other passengers, including Willem, who were wearing them ended up with crushed ribs and lungs.
25 passengers and six crew members were killed in the aviation tragedy (Annette Herfkens)
"At some point I must have landed and slipped under a seat, legs first, and gotten stuck," Annette explained. "This kept me in place for the second, bigger impact, which caused the plane to break up."
After around five hours, Annette woke up and came to the horror realisation that Willem had died in the crash.
Somehow she made her way out of the wreckage, even though 'everything hurt', and she began to take account of her injuries - her jaw was 'hanging loose' and she had sustained a fractured hip as well as a collapsed lung.
She told how she could hear 'faint moans' from inside the plane, eventually finding a 'badly hurt' Vietnamese man who reassured her rescue teams would be coming - but he, and any other survivors, passed away as the days went on.
This left Annette to navigate this 'weird, unreal reality, where everything was green' alone.
"Over the following days, even though I was grieving for Pasje, I concentrated on my survival," she explained.
Annette's fiancé Willem van der Pas sadly died in the crash (Annette Herfkens)
Survival mode kicked it and Annette knew she needed to stay hydrated - so she headed up to the shattered wing of the plane, tore some insulation from it, and collected rainwater with small sponges she fashioned from it.
The sole survivor explained she resisted the urge to break down in tears, as if she gave into her emotions, she would give up on her mission to stay alive - so instead, she 'stayed in the now'.
"I listened to my heart and instinct, and not to my mind, because the mind makes up stories that can frighten you," Annette recalled. "I trusted that they were going to find me.
"I did not think: 'What if a tiger comes?' I thought: 'I’ll deal with it when the tiger comes'. I did not think: 'What if I die?' I thought: 'I will see about it when I die'."
A Vietnamese policeman did eventually stumble upon the scene - but bizarrely, he fled.
Annette explained as the officer had 'never seen a white woman before', he genuinely thought she was a 'ghost'.
She penned a book about her ordeal in 2014 (YouTube/CNN)
But thankfully, he informed local authorities about what he had seen in the jungle and 192 hours after the plane had crashed - and after a hell of a week - the sole survivor of Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 was rescued.
Annette admitted the physical recovery she faced was difficult, but the psychological one was even harder.
Speaking of losing Willem, she said: "It felt like I was widowed. I attended his funeral in Breda, Holland. [I was] brought into the church on a stretcher, I felt surreal - like a bride taken down the aisle to meet her groom in his coffin."
In desperate need of some normality, Annette made the decision to return to her job in Madrid.
She went on to marry a co-worker, who she then moved to New York City with before welcoming two children.
Annette wrote the book Turbulence: A True Story of Survival in 2014 which detailed her ordeal and incredible story of survival - with experts telling her she did 'all the right things' to make it through the perilous circumstances.
But to this day, the official cause of the crash remains a mystery.Featured Image Credit: Annette Herfkens
Topics: Travel, World News, Health, Mental Health, Books
Olivia Burk
Published 20:24 13 Mar 2023 GMT
Flight attendant shares details on what really happens to passengers if they die on board
The flight attendant explained what happens in a now-viral TikTok video.
Tom Wood
A flight attendant has revealed the truth of what happens when a passenger dies on a flight. You can see her explanation in the video below.
What happens if someone dies on a flight
Credit: TikTok/@danidboyy1
0 seconds of 29 secondsVolume 90%
Death is a fact of life, and something that we’re all going to have to deal with at some point.
Although most of us can only hope for a peaceful death at a ripe old age, people do sometimes die unexpectedly, and that includes whilst taking flights.
It probably happens more than you think, too.
Anyway, the first thing to note is that if someone is taken seriously ill on a flight, the crew of whichever airline it is will try to get them immediate help.
If that means diverting the flight and performing first aid in mid-air, that’s what they’ll do.
However, if someone dies unexpectedly and without anyone noticing, there are a number of things that can happen.
Flight attendant and TikTok user @danidboyy1 explained the situation to her followers.
TikTok/@danidboyy1
She said: “Do you know what happens to somebody if they die on a flight?
“Luckily this has never happened on any of my flights where I have been operating as crew, but I do have some friends who have found themselves in this sad situation.
“Cabin crew cannot legally declare someone dead, so if the captain decides to not divert the plane, the body will remain on the aircraft until they have reached their final destination.
“If there is space the body may be moved to an empty row of seats or to a different galley or cabin,
“But if the flight is full, the passenger will stay in their original seat until they have reached their destination.”
This isn’t the first time that a flight attendant has spoken about the protocols in place for situations like this.
Another attendant told Business Insider: “I would probably put a blanket over the person so it would become less of something to look at.
“You want to maintain dignity and respect for someone who passed away.
"You don't want anyone staring at them...that would be really sad."
TikTok/@danidboyy1
Passengers have also had their say on what happens in these tragic circumstances, with one explaining: “A woman sitting two rows behind me on an 11-hour flight from Frankfurt to Singapore had stopped breathing on the last leg of the trip.
"The woman's immediate neighbours were allocated new seats as they lay her across the row of seats.
"Once it was determined that there was nothing else they could do, they covered her body with a sheet (but not her face) and the flight carried on as per normal.
On 26 June 2015, a terrorist attack struck the tourist resort of Port El Kantaoui in Sousse.
22-year-old Tunisian electrical engineering student, Seifeddine Rezgui, opened fire on the beach as so-called Islamic State group (IS) took claim of the attack. The gunman had hidden a gun under a beach umbrella and threw grenades onto the tourist-packed beach outside two hotels.
There were 30 UK citizens among those killed and one Brit says she played dead in order to survive the horrific attack.
30 Brits were among those who died. (FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)Following that terrifying day in Tunisia, Angela Evans told the BBC how she and her friend tried to trick Rezgui into thinking they were already dead so he wouldn’t target them.
The woman from Norfolk described: “We both looked up, stood up, there was this man there in black, several rows of sun loungers away just stood there with his huge gun moving round all the people shooting them, just killing, murdering them.”
She continued her harrowing account: “You can't run, you're an open target running, he was shooting anyone on their feet as well as people on sun loungers, he was just killing them.
"So we both at the same time, [said] play dead, we just fell to the ground, faces in the sand. The shooting continued. He just kept on shooting, it was coming nearer and nearer. Then his feet were at the side of me. You don't move, because you're next. You just pray to God.”
She played dead to survive. (BBC)And it wasn’t over yet, as she added: “Then there was this noise, this heavy clicking noise, into the sand fell part of the gun, a magazine... You still have to pretend you're dead. And then click again. He put more bullets in.
"And then there was a noise. I don't know what noise, just a noise. I could feel him move and the shooting started again."
Angela said once she heard him leave the beach and move towards a hotel, they ran away. Staff in a different hotel hid the friends in an office until it was finally over and police had shot Rezgui dead.
Tour operator, TUI, reached a settlement with families of holidaymakers caught up in the terror attack in 2022. The claimants alleged that the company was responsible for safety and security breaches at the resort.
TUI denied this but, ahead of a trial, the law firm representing more than 80 claimants released a joint statement stating they had reached a settlement 'without admission of liability or fault', bringing the legal action to an end.Featured Image Credit: Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/BBC
Topics: Terrorism, UK News, Crime, World News, Travel
Jess BattisonUpdated 14:42 4 Sep 2024 GMT+1Published 14:43 4 Sep 2024 GMT+1
Woman made chilling joke as her plane was crashing before surviving 192 hours alone in the Vietnamese jungle
Annette Herfkens survived eight days in the jungle following the fatal crash
Olivia Burke
As the plane which Annette Herfkens and her fiancé were travelling on suddenly started to nosedive as they flew over the Vietnamese jungle, she made a joke in the hopes of calming her other half's nerves.
But at the time, the Dutch author, now 63, had no idea how much her words would come back to haunt her.
She ended up being the sole survivor of a horror plane crash in November 1992 and miraculously managed to persevere in the wilderness for another eight days - despite being gravely injured - before she was eventually rescued.
Annette and her partner of 13 years, Willem van der Pas, were among the 26 passengers and six crew members who were onboard Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 when it smashed into a mountaintop en route to Nha Trang Airport.
After running into a spot of bad weather, the Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft descended to a dangerous altitude, slammed into trees which lined the ridge of the Ô Kha mountain in Vietnam and crashed.
Annette was the only one to make it out of the jungle alive, and later penned a poignant book regarding her dance with death more than three decades ago - detailing how she lost her beloved fiancé as they headed on a romantic getaway.
Sole plane crash survivor reveals 192 hour ordeal alone in jungle
CNN
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 32 secondsVolume 90%
Annette had met Willem - who she fondly refers to as Pasje - back in the Netherlands when they both attended Leiden University, and said they quickly 'knew they were destined to get married' to one another.
Annette was working as a trader while her boyfriend was a banker, and they were both regularly sent abroad for work.
In 1992, she was based in Madrid, while Willem was out in Vietnam - so they organised a reunion.
The trader flew out to Ho Chi Minh City to meet her other half, who then surprised her with a five-day trip to the coastal city of Nha Trang, which meant Annette had to hop back on another plane.
Speaking to the New York Post in 2016, she said: "I was excited for the surprise getaway. But I felt so claustrophobic, I shuddered as we boarded the cramped Vietnam Airlines plane."
Annette recalled how she had even asked Willem whether they could take an alternative mode of transport, but he informed her that it would take too long, whereas the flight was only quick.
So, albeit a little 'nervous', the trader took her seat on the plane.
Annette Herfkens was the sole survivor of the crash (Annette Herfkens)Around 50 minutes into the journey, Annette explained that the plane suddenly 'experienced a tremendous drop' which seemed to alarm Willem, so she decided to crack a joke to put him at ease.
At the time, she was blissfully unaware it would be one of the last things she ever said to him.
Recalling their final conversation, she continued: "'Of course, a sh*tty little toy plane drops like this!' I said, reaching for his hand. 'It’s just an air pocket — don’t worry'.
"But he was right to worry. We dropped again. Someone screamed. It went pitch-black. Seconds later, we made impact."
Although she 'doesn't remember exactly what happened', Annette assumes that she was thrown around the aircraft - causing her to sustain a rang of serious injuries to her head and limbs.
She was not wearing a seatbelt when the incident occurred - but she later found out this likely saved her life, as other passengers, including Willem, who were wearing them ended up with crushed ribs and lungs.
25 passengers and six crew members were killed in the aviation tragedy (Annette Herfkens)"At some point I must have landed and slipped under a seat, legs first, and gotten stuck," Annette explained. "This kept me in place for the second, bigger impact, which caused the plane to break up."
After around five hours, Annette woke up and came to the horror realisation that Willem had died in the crash.
Somehow she made her way out of the wreckage, even though 'everything hurt', and she began to take account of her injuries - her jaw was 'hanging loose' and she had sustained a fractured hip as well as a collapsed lung.
She told how she could hear 'faint moans' from inside the plane, eventually finding a 'badly hurt' Vietnamese man who reassured her rescue teams would be coming - but he, and any other survivors, passed away as the days went on.
This left Annette to navigate this 'weird, unreal reality, where everything was green' alone.
"Over the following days, even though I was grieving for Pasje, I concentrated on my survival," she explained.
Annette's fiancé Willem van der Pas sadly died in the crash (Annette Herfkens)Survival mode kicked it and Annette knew she needed to stay hydrated - so she headed up to the shattered wing of the plane, tore some insulation from it, and collected rainwater with small sponges she fashioned from it.
The sole survivor explained she resisted the urge to break down in tears, as if she gave into her emotions, she would give up on her mission to stay alive - so instead, she 'stayed in the now'.
"I listened to my heart and instinct, and not to my mind, because the mind makes up stories that can frighten you," Annette recalled. "I trusted that they were going to find me.
"I did not think: 'What if a tiger comes?' I thought: 'I’ll deal with it when the tiger comes'. I did not think: 'What if I die?' I thought: 'I will see about it when I die'."
A Vietnamese policeman did eventually stumble upon the scene - but bizarrely, he fled.
Annette explained as the officer had 'never seen a white woman before', he genuinely thought she was a 'ghost'.
She penned a book about her ordeal in 2014 (YouTube/CNN)But thankfully, he informed local authorities about what he had seen in the jungle and 192 hours after the plane had crashed - and after a hell of a week - the sole survivor of Vietnam Airlines Flight 474 was rescued.
Annette admitted the physical recovery she faced was difficult, but the psychological one was even harder.
Speaking of losing Willem, she said: "It felt like I was widowed. I attended his funeral in Breda, Holland. [I was] brought into the church on a stretcher, I felt surreal - like a bride taken down the aisle to meet her groom in his coffin."
In desperate need of some normality, Annette made the decision to return to her job in Madrid.
She went on to marry a co-worker, who she then moved to New York City with before welcoming two children.
Annette wrote the book Turbulence: A True Story of Survival in 2014 which detailed her ordeal and incredible story of survival - with experts telling her she did 'all the right things' to make it through the perilous circumstances.
But to this day, the official cause of the crash remains a mystery.Featured Image Credit: Annette Herfkens
Topics: Travel, World News, Health, Mental Health, Books
Olivia BurkPublished 20:24 13 Mar 2023 GMT
Flight attendant shares details on what really happens to passengers if they die on board
The flight attendant explained what happens in a now-viral TikTok video.
Tom Wood
A flight attendant has revealed the truth of what happens when a passenger dies on a flight. You can see her explanation in the video below.
What happens if someone dies on a flight
Credit: TikTok/@danidboyy1
0 seconds of 29 secondsVolume 90%
Death is a fact of life, and something that we’re all going to have to deal with at some point.
Although most of us can only hope for a peaceful death at a ripe old age, people do sometimes die unexpectedly, and that includes whilst taking flights.
It probably happens more than you think, too.
Anyway, the first thing to note is that if someone is taken seriously ill on a flight, the crew of whichever airline it is will try to get them immediate help.
If that means diverting the flight and performing first aid in mid-air, that’s what they’ll do.
However, if someone dies unexpectedly and without anyone noticing, there are a number of things that can happen.
Flight attendant and TikTok user @danidboyy1 explained the situation to her followers.
TikTok/@danidboyy1She said: “Do you know what happens to somebody if they die on a flight?
“Luckily this has never happened on any of my flights where I have been operating as crew, but I do have some friends who have found themselves in this sad situation.
“Cabin crew cannot legally declare someone dead, so if the captain decides to not divert the plane, the body will remain on the aircraft until they have reached their final destination.
“If there is space the body may be moved to an empty row of seats or to a different galley or cabin,
“But if the flight is full, the passenger will stay in their original seat until they have reached their destination.”
This isn’t the first time that a flight attendant has spoken about the protocols in place for situations like this.
Another attendant told Business Insider: “I would probably put a blanket over the person so it would become less of something to look at.
“You want to maintain dignity and respect for someone who passed away.
"You don't want anyone staring at them...that would be really sad."
TikTok/@danidboyy1Passengers have also had their say on what happens in these tragic circumstances, with one explaining: “A woman sitting two rows behind me on an 11-hour flight from Frankfurt to Singapore had stopped breathing on the last leg of the trip.
"The woman's immediate neighbours were allocated new seats as they lay her across the row of seats.
"Once it was determined that there was nothing else they could do, they covered her body with a sheet (but not her face) and the flight carried on as per normal.
