r/interesting Oct 04 '24

In 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, an Armenian Olympic swimmer, saves 20 people trapped in a bus that sank 80' offshore. It took him several hours to save them all, and he suffered injuries that put him in the hospital for 45 days—it ended his Olympic career. HISTORY

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u/Green____cat Oct 04 '24

In 1985, he happened to pass by a burning building and rushed inside, again saving people trapped inside one at a time until he collapsed. He was again hospitalized with severe burns and lung damage.

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u/Agitated-Zebra4334 Oct 04 '24 edited Oct 04 '24

And this 1974 bus incident:

In 1974 Shavarsh was riding a bus when the driver pulled over to check on a mechanical problem. The engine was left running and the bus suddenly started rolling down towards a mountain gorge. Karapetyan broke down the partition separating the passengers from the driver's compartment, he then took control of the steering wheel and turned the bus away from the cliff.

Source.

This guy later appeared in Final Destination 1,2 and 3 and escaped fate. Ok, I made that one up.

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u/No-Respect5903 Oct 04 '24

damn most people go through life without ever really having an opportunity to be truly heroic but this guy had 3. I can't say that if I saw a bus fall into the water I would think "I've gotta dive in and save them!" though.

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u/Hay_Mel Oct 04 '24

Being an Olympic swimmer probably add to the confidence.

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u/HaydenJA3 Oct 05 '24

Technically he’s not an Olympian, but he held multiple world records in fin swimming, which is not at the Olympics