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Disconnecting from life support ::
The hazards of becoming indifferent to danger…
Source: Perspective Vol8 No2 ©Perspective 2000
In 1875 three balloonists left Paris with the ambition of setting a new altitude record. Tissandier, Spinelli and Sibel were warned to take pressurised oxygen for their flight. But hypoxia set in, and by the time they reached 7500 metres, they were in serious trouble. Tissandier sat helpless on the floor of the basket as he watched his delirious colleagues dump ballast to gain height.
The lack of oxygen apparently affected their reasoning – and so along with their ballast, they threw their oxygen equipment overboard as well. It was a fatal move. By the time the balloon landed, Sibel and Spinelli were dead. Tissandier survived. He said, towards 7500m the numbness you experience is amazing. “You become indifferent; you no longer think of the danger. You just want to rise and rise,” he said. Tragically, as they did, they let go of the one thing that meant life to them.