iPhone Apps Help Trapped Man Stay Alive Before Rescue

The story that American filmmaker Dan Woolley has to tell indicates that he is one very level-headed and very lucky guy.

MSNBC reports that Woolley was at work on a documentary film investigating economic conditions in Haiti when the 7.0 quake ripped the city of Port au Prince. Harrowing moments later, Woolley was trapped in the rubble of the Hotel Montana.

His leg was badly injured, and a nearsighted, Dan quickly discovered that his glasses were lost in the cataclysm. But he was alive, and he was able to move about. And, remarkably, he had battery life on his iPhone, with the calm mind to set to the task of putting it to good use to keep himself alive for more than 60 hours before his rescue by volunteers.

As he recounts his story to MSNBC, Woolley used the camera function to light up and take pictures of his immediate surroundings, which allowed him to locate an elevator shaft in which to take refuge.

Once there, he relied upon a first aid application that Wired.com has identified as Pocket First Aid and CPR to treat the compound fracture on his leg and a laceration on his head. The first aid app warned of the importance of staying awake in his condition, so Woolley warded off sleep by setting the alarm to ring on every 20 minutes.

French rescue workers found Woolley and extracted him from the crumbled remains of the Hotel Montana 65 hours after the quake struck. Woolley cites his faith as a reason why he lived to tell such an astonishing tale. But Dan Woolley's good fortune to have had a still-working device along with the clear-mindedness to put it to use to see himself through the ordeal are truly remarkable.

Photo courtesy of Adrian Ilie via Wikimedia Commons