Friday, June 13, 2025

March 6, 2012

Sri Lankan Man Dies During Record Attempt For Longest Time Buried Alive

I'm not quite sure if this is ironic, or just plain unfortunate. I'm going to settle with a little bit of both. A Sri Lankan man made the attempt at the record for being buried alive the longest, but emerged a dead man. The important question: Did he break the record?

I’m not quite sure if this is ironic, or just plain unfortunate. I’m going to settle with a little bit of both. A Sri Lankan man made the attempt at the record for being buried alive the longest, but emerged a dead man. The important question: Did he break the record?

Well, no. In order to be successful, you actually need to emerge alive, otherwise you’ve only got a record for being buried. Many people have achieved much longer times than this guy, who was buried in the ground at 09h30 in the morning, and was dug up at 16h00. He was buried in a trench about 3 feet deep and covered with a plank of wood – probably not the safest of mechanisms. He was pulled out unconscious and pronounced dead on his arrival at the hospital.

My guess is that some sort of warning system, maybe a bell-on-a-string kinda vibe would have been a good idea. Also, wait until you’re dead before you bury yourself.

[Source: Washington Post]