iPhone saves woman's life after shipwreck near Japan

Posted:
in iPhone
A woman's iPhone was instrumental in summoning rescue, after a chartered boat capsized off the coast of Japan dumping her and her friends in the ocean.

Apple marketing on NBC


The boat was overwhelmed by high seas, forcing all eight passengers to strap on life vests and jump overboard, NBC reported. Rachel -- who works for FEMA in the U.S. -- had an emergency "go bag" with her, in which the group kept its smartphones. While the first phone they tried didn't work, Rachel's unspecified iPhone did despite being exposed to water.

After calling an emergency number, the group was rescued by the Japan Coast Guard about 90 minutes later, airlifted by helicopter.

iPhones have had varying degrees of water resistance since the iPhone 6s. The iPhone 7 was the first model to have an official IP67 rating -- the iPhone XS and XS Max go a step further with IP68 certification, meaning they can be immersed in 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) of fresh water for 30 minutes. Sea salt is incredibly conductive and highly damaging to electronics, making Rachel's case particularly lucky.

NBC was provided the story by Apple, which received a note from Rachel thanking the company for making a quality product. Apple CEO Tim Cook linked to the story on Twitter.

One woman says her iPhone saved her life when she and seven others on vacation in Japan got shipwrecked and lost in the middle of the ocean. @DylanDreyerNBC is in the Orange Room with more. pic.twitter.com/UnNIyq9YsZ

-- TODAY (@TODAYshow)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    Yay!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 13
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    Sea Water is not going to have much of a effect in such a short period of time. It was already in a water proof back. You're in the water, take it out of the bag, and you have some time using it. It's not being held feet under water for hours, let alone minutes. Should have no problem lasting more than long enough to call for help so long as you have cell service.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    it Also worked long enough to take a selfie. :-)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 13
    jbdragon said:
    Sea Water is not going to have much of a effect in such a short period of time. It was already in a water proof back. You're in the water, take it out of the bag, and you have some time using it. It's not being held feet under water for hours, let alone minutes. Should have no problem lasting more than long enough to call for help so long as you have cell service.
    Having service is the real key here.  They were fortunate to have been close enough to a tower, even if it was on the boat itself, to have gotten a call out.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 13
    My iPhone saved my wife and me on February 10, 2012. We were hiking in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia when lightning hit a railing we were holding. Thousands of volts of electricity paralyzed us for I don't know how long. We fell and couldn't move. For a few minutes we lost our hearing from the loud thunder blast. Right after the lightning hit, rain poured and rocks, tree limbs, debris fell on us. Long story short, my wife almost severed a hand, I broke an ankle and was scalped from some heavy object that must have fallen on my head. We were both bleeding. I found my iPhone sticking out of the mud, its screen shattered. I dialed triple 0 and the call went thru! About a dozen EMT folks eventually came. My wife, nearing hypothermia, was helicoptered out. I was coaxed to walk up 600 steps to street level where a TV crew filmed me being put in an ambulance. So we were on TV and the newspapers.

    One surgery for me and three for my wife later, we were saved.

    To cap this survival story, I walked in an Apple Store to get my phone replaced. The Apple employee, seeing me on crutches and my left leg in a cast  asked. 'So what's your story?' While I told him. I got my credit card out for the $260 cost of replacement, He said, 'Put it away. I've heard enough. It's on us.'

    So thanks, iPhone. And thanks, Apple!
    LukeCageroundaboutnowwatto_cobraedredjony0
  • Reply 6 of 13
    TrueNorth said:
    My iPhone saved my wife and me on February 10, 2012. We were hiking in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia when lightning hit a railing we were holding. Thousands of volts of electricity paralyzed us for I don't know how long. We fell and couldn't move. For a few minutes we lost our hearing from the loud thunder blast. Right after the lightning hit, rain poured and rocks, tree limbs, debris fell on us. Long story short, my wife almost severed a hand, I broke an ankle and was scalped from some heavy object that must have fallen on my head. We were both bleeding. I found my iPhone sticking out of the mud, its screen shattered. I dialed triple 0 and the call went thru! About a dozen EMT folks eventually came. My wife, nearing hypothermia, was helicoptered out. I was coaxed to walk up 600 steps to street level where a TV crew filmed me being put in an ambulance. So we were on TV and the newspapers.

    One surgery for me and three for my wife later, we were saved.

    To cap this survival story, I walked in an Apple Store to get my phone replaced. The Apple employee, seeing me on crutches and my left leg in a cast  asked. 'So what's your story?' While I told him. I got my credit card out for the $260 cost of replacement, He said, 'Put it away. I've heard enough. It's on us.'

    So thanks, iPhone. And thanks, Apple!
    Wow. That's incredible. Thanks for sharing.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 13
    TrueNorth said:
    My iPhone saved my wife and me on February 10, 2012. We were hiking in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia when lightning hit a railing we were holding. Thousands of volts of electricity paralyzed us for I don't know how long. We fell and couldn't move. For a few minutes we lost our hearing from the loud thunder blast. Right after the lightning hit, rain poured and rocks, tree limbs, debris fell on us. Long story short, my wife almost severed a hand, I broke an ankle and was scalped from some heavy object that must have fallen on my head. We were both bleeding. I found my iPhone sticking out of the mud, its screen shattered. I dialed triple 0 and the call went thru! About a dozen EMT folks eventually came. My wife, nearing hypothermia, was helicoptered out. I was coaxed to walk up 600 steps to street level where a TV crew filmed me being put in an ambulance. So we were on TV and the newspapers.

    One surgery for me and three for my wife later, we were saved.

    To cap this survival story, I walked in an Apple Store to get my phone replaced. The Apple employee, seeing me on crutches and my left leg in a cast  asked. 'So what's your story?' While I told him. I got my credit card out for the $260 cost of replacement, He said, 'Put it away. I've heard enough. It's on us.'

    So thanks, iPhone. And thanks, Apple!
    Wow. Apple needs to make an ad out of your story.
    watto_cobraedred
  • Reply 8 of 13
    TrueNorth said:
    My iPhone saved my wife and me on February 10, 2012. We were hiking in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia when lightning hit a railing we were holding. Thousands of volts of electricity paralyzed us for I don't know how long. We fell and couldn't move. For a few minutes we lost our hearing from the loud thunder blast. Right after the lightning hit, rain poured and rocks, tree limbs, debris fell on us. Long story short, my wife almost severed a hand, I broke an ankle and was scalped from some heavy object that must have fallen on my head. We were both bleeding. I found my iPhone sticking out of the mud, its screen shattered. I dialed triple 0 and the call went thru! About a dozen EMT folks eventually came. My wife, nearing hypothermia, was helicoptered out. I was coaxed to walk up 600 steps to street level where a TV crew filmed me being put in an ambulance. So we were on TV and the newspapers.

    One surgery for me and three for my wife later, we were saved.

    To cap this survival story, I walked in an Apple Store to get my phone replaced. The Apple employee, seeing me on crutches and my left leg in a cast  asked. 'So what's your story?' While I told him. I got my credit card out for the $260 cost of replacement, He said, 'Put it away. I've heard enough. It's on us.'

    So thanks, iPhone. And thanks, Apple!
    Wow. That's incredible. Thanks for sharing.
    Always a pleasure to share it. Explains my loyalty to Apple, too.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 13
    TrueNorth said:
    My iPhone saved my wife and me on February 10, 2012. We were hiking in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia when lightning hit a railing we were holding. Thousands of volts of electricity paralyzed us for I don't know how long. We fell and couldn't move. For a few minutes we lost our hearing from the loud thunder blast. Right after the lightning hit, rain poured and rocks, tree limbs, debris fell on us. Long story short, my wife almost severed a hand, I broke an ankle and was scalped from some heavy object that must have fallen on my head. We were both bleeding. I found my iPhone sticking out of the mud, its screen shattered. I dialed triple 0 and the call went thru! About a dozen EMT folks eventually came. My wife, nearing hypothermia, was helicoptered out. I was coaxed to walk up 600 steps to street level where a TV crew filmed me being put in an ambulance. So we were on TV and the newspapers.

    One surgery for me and three for my wife later, we were saved.

    To cap this survival story, I walked in an Apple Store to get my phone replaced. The Apple employee, seeing me on crutches and my left leg in a cast  asked. 'So what's your story?' While I told him. I got my credit card out for the $260 cost of replacement, He said, 'Put it away. I've heard enough. It's on us.'

    So thanks, iPhone. And thanks, Apple!
    Wow. Apple needs to make an ad out of your story.
    Haha I'd welcome that. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 13
    TrueNorth said:
    TrueNorth said:
    My iPhone saved my wife and me on February 10, 2012. We were hiking in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, Australia when lightning hit a railing we were holding. Thousands of volts of electricity paralyzed us for I don't know how long. We fell and couldn't move. For a few minutes we lost our hearing from the loud thunder blast. Right after the lightning hit, rain poured and rocks, tree limbs, debris fell on us. Long story short, my wife almost severed a hand, I broke an ankle and was scalped from some heavy object that must have fallen on my head. We were both bleeding. I found my iPhone sticking out of the mud, its screen shattered. I dialed triple 0 and the call went thru! About a dozen EMT folks eventually came. My wife, nearing hypothermia, was helicoptered out. I was coaxed to walk up 600 steps to street level where a TV crew filmed me being put in an ambulance. So we were on TV and the newspapers.

    One surgery for me and three for my wife later, we were saved.

    To cap this survival story, I walked in an Apple Store to get my phone replaced. The Apple employee, seeing me on crutches and my left leg in a cast  asked. 'So what's your story?' While I told him. I got my credit card out for the $260 cost of replacement, He said, 'Put it away. I've heard enough. It's on us.'

    So thanks, iPhone. And thanks, Apple!
    Wow. That's incredible. Thanks for sharing.
    Always a pleasure to share it. Explains my loyalty to Apple, too.

    I'm really glad you guys survived!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 13
    Thanks, me, too.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 13
    That’s a great story - thanks for sharing. Though I have to wonder how many people are going to borrow bandages, crutches and tomato ketchup when they take their iPhone into an Apple Store for repair: “...and then I rammed my iPhone into the shark’s open jaws and despite the cracked screen I still managed to call the coastguard...”
  • Reply 13 of 13
    Haha I doubt every Apple employee is authorized to make the same call. I've had other, smaller mishaps and wasn't shown the same generosity.
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