
Miracle man survives iron stake plunging through body millimetres from heart
Despite having an iron stake pierce through his chest - from one side to the other - one man escaped death after a horror accident at work.
It was a regular day for Assalam Alekium when he went to work on his construction site in Dagestan, Russia, until the 24-year-old lost his balance, falling through a giant iron rod that pierced straight through his chest, skewering him in what was set to be a gruesome and fatal incident. With the metal stake piercing through his back and missing his heart by just a few millimetres, in the first miracle, it managed to avoid any major organs - not killing him instantly.
Doctors from the local hospital soon arrived at the scene, where a team worked using grinders to cut through the metal that was secured to the ground, allowing him to be carefully moved off the building site for some proper care. It comes after a schoolboy, 13, has both legs amputated after 'getting cramp' at sports camp.
Speaking about the shocking incident, the local health ministry said: 'One of the [metal rods] went right through the man's chest, which, having penetrated from the back on the left, came out in the front on the right. The wound channel ran through the projection of vital organs and structures.'
Once at the hospital, Assalam went straight into surgery, where they opened up his chest and attempted to pull out the rod.
A spokesperson for the ministry added: 'The patient underwent emergency surgery. A wide opening of the chest was performed, the integrity of vital organs and structures was restored, internal bleeding was stopped. Surgical treatment of the affected bones and soft tissues was performed.'
But in his second miracle, the 24-year-old's surgery was successful, with doctors managing to remove the sharp instrument and stop the bleeding, with his recovery beginning soon after.
Still in the hospital, the builder is 'confidently recovering and preparing for discharge' and should soon be back at home with just a few scars.
Dubbed 'the miracle man', Assalam said: 'I feel good. Thanks to all the doctors. They helped me a lot, they gave me [life].'
The news in Russia comes shortly after a miracle escape on British soil when a man survived a 200ft fall at a popular Devon beach.
The lucky walker who plummeted from the top of Haven Cliffs near Sidmouth somehow managed to walk away from the distressing experience with nothing more than a stern talking to.
Having become stuck but uninjured after the fall, a HM coastguard helicopter had to come to the rescue to airlift him free. Beer Coastguard Rescue Team said he was then "allowed to go on his way" when he was rescued, with his calls for help having been heard by local kayakers.

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Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Exactly what happens to your body when you're sunburnt
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After a decade Cumulative DNA damage from repeated sunburns can eventually overwhelm your skin's repair mechanisms, leading to mutations in genes that control the skin cells potentially leading to pre-cancer and cancerous skin changes, Dr Sommerlad continues. We know that melanomas arise through a complicated interplay between melanocytes – the cells that give pigment – developing uncontrolled growth and division. 'It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when and why melanomas form,' she says. 'We do know that some people are much more likely to get them.' Those with lots of unusual looking moles, a history of sunburn and sun tan bed use, and who burn very easily or have a family history of skin cancer are at higher risk. According to Dr Sommerlad, photo-damaged skin appears saggier, more lined and wrinkled with extensive uneven pigmentation giving the skin a prematurely aged appearance. Can you reverse sun damage? If so, how? 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Avoid sunbathing and suntan beds altogether even if you don't burn. The NHS do not offer mole check services, but many private providers do and may be worth considering if you have a lots of freckles and moles for an in person full skin check where you can also learn how to continue checking yourself at home. Don't I need to go into the sun to get vitamin D? Getting some sun on our skin can help our bodies to make the vitamin D it needs for healthy bones, according to Cancer Research UK, but whatever your skin tone, there's no need to sunbathe or risk getting sunburn for the sake of vitamin D intake. Can you sunburn on a cloudy day? Yes as the clouds don't block all UV; in fact 80 per cent can get through. UV doesn't heat the air – that's infra red light from the sun that gives the warm feeling – so you may be lulled into a false sense of security about UV strength on a cloudy summer's day. Can all skin types sunburn?


Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
British medic's heartbreaking two words to dead Gaza child, 9, while zipping up their body bag
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International pressure has been building on Israel to end the conflict, with PM Keir Starmer highlighting the 'terrible suffering' Palestinians have endured. But fighting has yet to stop; nor has the hunger. Famine, experts say, is underway. And just this week, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to take control of all of Gaza. More bloodshed will inevitably follow. Just a few days into Sam's deployment, he had to contend with a 'mass casualty incident'. Two boys, one aged nine, the other 10 or 11, were killed – and a third, about only eight, was in a dire state with shrapnel injuries. 'I was tasked with going into the resus area to support in there,' Sam, who back in the UK works for East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, recalled. 'There's three beds and when I went in on two of the beds there were two deceased children and on the other bed there was another child critically unwell.' His job was an unenviable one; to confirm their deaths and put them into body bags to be taken to the mortuary. 'It was me and an interpreter,' Sam said. 'It was difficult because we knew we had to be quick to get them away to make room. But we were being very dignified, the way we were handling. Even in the UK when we declare someone deceased and then we make them at peace for the family to see them, I do sometimes say something to them. 'But I definitely said to this young nine-year-old, 'I'm sorry', as I zipped up the body bag.' Asked why they were the words that came to him, Sam explained: 'I think just because his demise, his end, came because of this whole war going on and he didn't deserve it.' The incident is one he will never forget 'without a doubt', he said. Sam, a veteran of deployments to Ukraine, Rwanda, Turkey and Sierra Leone for UK-Med, is no stranger to working in tough environments. But Gaza was so much worse than he anticipated – 'the destruction and devastation is just unprecedented'. 'Malnutrition is no longer a future threat. It is a present killer,' Sam said. 'One of my patients was a 16-year-old girl named Noor. She has diabetes but was half the expected weight for her age. 'Her father told me they sometimes went two days without food or clean water. Noor was lucky to reach us in time, but many others do not. Even those who survive the hunger live in constant fear. There is no safe space. The sound of shelling and airstrikes is relentless. Children cry not just from pain or hunger, but from sheer terror. The health system in Gaza has been battered. Hospitals are under-resourced, understaffed, and overwhelmed. Supplies are critically low. Electricity is intermittent. Colleagues I worked with in Gaza – brave, committed local medics – have lost homes, family members, and friends, yet they keep working. Their resilience is extraordinary, but it is not infinite.' UK-Med's field hospitals are in Al-Mawasi, in the south, which includes an emergency department, and Deir El Balah in central Gaza. The Manchester charity has been backed with £19million of funding by the UK government for its work in the strip. The Manchester charity has been backed with £19million of funding by the UK government for its work in Gaza. UK-Med has carried out over 600,000 patient consultations since starting work in the strip in January 2024. It is approaching two years since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel left about 1,200 dead and saw 251 hostages taken, sparking the war. Though some hostages have been released, nearly 50 are still said to be held – just over half of whom are believed to be dead. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory military offensive, according to Gaza's health ministry. And hunger looms over the crippled territory. Only last month, the UN said nearly one in three people in the enclave are going days without eating. Though it has yet to be officially declared, UN-backed global food security experts have warned 'the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out'. Sam added: 'This crisis requires a sustained ceasefire, not a fragile truce. It requires a permanent end to hostilities, full protection for civilians and health workers, and unhindered humanitarian access to food, fuel, and medical supplies. The longer the world waits, the higher the cost. Hunger and despair are spreading faster than aid can reach. If the conflict doesn't kill, starvation might. As I return to my life in the UK, I carry the weight of what I saw. The people of Gaza don't get to leave. They have no escape from the hunger, the fear, the trauma. They need more than our sympathy. They need our action.' Heartbreaking images from UK-Med's Al-Mawasi hospital this week paint a continuing picture of desperation. One shows the hand of a malnourished girl, with stick-thin arms, resting on her dad's. The child, Amira, visited the charity's nutrition clinic earlier this week with dad Abdulkader, mum Mona and brother Mohammed. In another picture, anguish was written on little Mohammed's face as his mother held him. According to UK-Med, there are four children in the family in total – all are suffering malnutrition. The only way for Abdulkader to get his daughter to stop writhing was to say 'milk, milk' – despite not having any. Another desperate story in a place where hope feels in short supply. But though tragic, Sam's tale of the two dead children offers a silver lining – the third boy survived after undergoing surgery. 'The next day, I found out he was sat up in bed and expected to make a full recovery,' Sam explained. 'It shows why we have to do what we do.'


Metro
13 hours ago
- Metro
British girl, 5, dies after drowning in swimming pool on holiday in Spain
A five-year-old British girl has died after being found unconscious in a swimming pool in Spain while on holiday with her family. She was taken to hospital after she was discovered at a resort in Morro Goble, Pájara in Fuertaventura, on Wednesday. Emergency services rushed to hospital after she was resuscitated by an on-duty lifeguard. But she was flow to a bigger hospital in Gran Canaria for further treatment due to the severity of her condition. Her death was reported by Canarias 1,500 kilometres de Costa, with the group saying: 'The five-year-old girl who suffered a critical drowning episode in the pool of a hotel in Morro Jable died today. 'The little girl was spending her vacation on the island of Fuerteventura with her family, originally from England. 'It was around 1.30am when the unconscious girl was pulled from the pool. 'Lifeguards performed CPR. The medical personnel from a SUC ambulance then continued providing care. More Trending 'Due to the seriousness of the case, she was urgently evacuated by medical helicopter to the Materno Infantil University Hospital. 'Despite the efforts of the medical team, the little girl was unable to overcome the dramatic event that took her life. 'We would like to express our condolences and solidarity to her family. Please take care of and supervise your children in the water. 'A terrible and difficult episode, once again.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Boy, 4, killed after being hit by bus outside hospital in Margate MORE: The 5 best lesser-known Spanish destinations tourists often miss MORE: Everything we know so far after eight killed in helicopter crash in Ghana