a battle for survival. three fishermen stranded on a capsized boat. they battled sharks, blistering sun, incredible hunger. yet they survived eight torturous days out at sea. they will join me to tell their incredible story. plus, his historic splash landing in the hudson river made pilot chesley sullenberger more than a household name. it's made him a rock star. i will talk with him right here for this special edition of "prime news," the heroes among us. welcome once again. i'm mike galanos. this is "prime news," special edition for you "the heroes among us." here's a story that blew us

away. a three buddies had he had out in the gulf of mexico for a fishing trip, a trip that turned into one of the most terrifying ordeals of their lives. while asleep their boat starts going down, taking on water. frantic efforts to keep it afloat fail, so they spend the next eight days clinking to their capsized boat and their sanity. their survival really depending on salvaged beer, crackers. earlier i talked to them about their story, hawkins, philips, kurt hall and the rescuer, eddie. all right. tressel, you're the one. you wake up and the boat is taking on water. take the story from there. what goes on next? >> it was about 12:30. we're all asleep on the boat of course. and my bean bag that i was sleeping in had started floating around a little bit. and i didn't think nothing of it. just thought it was the waves on the boat until it just kind of pushed me to the side. and when i went to adjust myself on the bean bag, i put my foot

down and the water came clear up to my knees. and at that time, i just woke up in a shock. and woke james up. and proceeded to wake kurt up. and about that time, it was probably about, i don't know, maybe about 15, 20 seconds that we're all up and trying to move around on the boat to get the water off of it. and put out a quick mayday call and that was it, the boat was turned over, capsized. >> kurt or james, when tressell wakes you up, immediate panic or pretty calm, okay, let's get the water out of here, we're going to be okay? >> i thought it was a movie really. i thought i was trying to get kurt up. when kurt got up and we turned the deck lights on, i mean, one motor was half underwater and, i mean, there wasn't -- there wasn't a whole lot we could do. it just flipped over. >> so who had the presence of mind to grab the gum, the chakers, the chips, the beer so

you would have something to eat? >> we didn't really grab that stuff. if we had grabbed some more, we probably could have lasted a few more days. but everything that we had was locked in the boat. i mean, it was in compartments in the boat that was locked down. >> so how did you guys get do it? >> kurt swam underneath the boat and got it out. >> okay. so let's talk about that. so, obviously, the night -- you're living a nightmare at this point. you're capsized in the middle of the gulf. and you're going to live on gum, crackers, beer. what about water? what did you guys do for water? you're living in it at this point but what did you do about drinking it? >> we had two gallons of water and we found three cases of beer but thought we should save it until it got pretty bad. >> okay. so it's probably bad at this point. obviously -- >> so what are you saying to each other? how are you encouraging each other that you're going to make it through this? >> stick together.

everyone swims, we all swim. one jumps, we all jump. >> was it difficult in the sense of staying positive? >> oh, yeah. at times. but, i pen, one person would be down and another person would bring the other two up. we just worked together. >> mostly around lunchtime. >> how do you mean? >> well, i mean, during the middle of the day, it just gets quiet and nobody is really doing nothing and watching the fish under the boat. you just get to thinking about things. but like you said, just one would help one and one would help the other and make the day out of it, go swimming. just get your mind off that you're out in the middle of nowhere. >> what was the worst part of it? was it mentally trying to stay strong or was it physically being hungry and sun burnt? tressell, let's start with you on that. >> well, i would say the biggest part was just missing our families, you know. for them not knowing what was going on, you know. there was a lot of scenarios

that they could have came up with, but they would have never came up with the scenario of the boat being capsized. we had just put brand new equipment in it. i mean, just really remodeled the whole boat itself. and it was just a point of missing the family and them not knowing. >> what were the conversations like as you're missing family, you're hungry, you're tired. what's going on there? >> well, at that point, i mean, you know, when you start thinking about your family and family members, then you start to go into that desperation moment. you're desperate to get off that boat. you're desperate to be rescued. and you just try to keep a calmness about you, you know, so you can think straight, you know. that was our biggest deal. we kept talking to each other, communicating with each other to, you know -- everybody to be on the same accord so we won't panic and do something erratic and probably it would be a

totally different story if we had went that route. but we all kept each other mainly in a mindset that we're going to get out of there. >> kurt, did you get sick of talking to each other? >> no. we talked about some stuff that -- i mean, a little bit of anything to pass the time, get your mind off being out there. but, yeah, i mean, after a while we kind of ran out of stories to tell each other and it was kind of like here we go again. you remember that time -- yeah, i do. >> you told that one two days ago. >> yeah. >> james, what about you? because we hear in cases like this your mind goes a little bit. >> yeah. >> was that going on as well, hallucinations, things like that. >> >> yes, sir, a little bit. >> a little bit? >> i guess i had the first encounter of it. i thought i was going to town to get a bottle of water and a can of copenhagen and walked off the end of the boat one night.

and it was -- and then the next morning i woke up and thought a guy was bringing me a cup of coffee and a biscuit. kurt looked like me like, oh, no, he lost his mind. it wasn't but 20 minutes later he had fell asleep again. it was early that morning. and he woke up and just gave me a ringing like you wouldn't believe, mad at me because me and tressell ate up all the pizza the pizza delivery guy brought us the night before. i told him i don't know where you're at. >> at this point, kurt, it sounds like you're -- you're probably thinking what's going on here, biscuits, pizza delivery guy? >> it was a real deal. almost like you were sleep walking with your eyes open. you're looking at him and carrying on a conversation like, oh, boy, here we go. >> wow. i'm glad you guys can really have a laugh about it, we can join in as well. let's get michelle golon in on this. is that natural? is that what happens here? kind of like that movie, the tom

hanks movie "castaway" where he starts talking to wilson the volleyball. >> first, i want to just say i'm so glad all of you are healthy and hear. what i can hear -- i'm listening to them and i can hear in them that the friendship and camaraderie that they have. and they must have even had that obviously before. and that hope and connection and keeping each other up is what helped them hang on. >> yeah. >> and so, you know, being there for each other, like you said, if one was jumping in, we're all jumping in. it was a team effort. and each of you should be commended in helping the other to really survive. it's an amazing story. and you know, it's completely changed your life. it changes how you see everything, i'm sure. >> yeah. we'll talk about that when we come back. obviously, we have to get to the rescue. we have the man that they were calling just a moment ago the savior, the man who came along with the boat and rescued these

guys. this riveting story.

welcome back. we've been hearing from three fishermen whose boat capsized in the middle of gulf of mexico. they spent eight years clinging to life and their sanity and survived on leftover crackers and beer and out there in the middle of nowhere wondered if they'd ever see home again. we have the rescuer with us. eddie. eddie, take us through what you see as you come upon these guys. did you know immediately that's the guys we've been hearing about, let's go get them or how did that unfold? >> i didn't know a thing. i didn't even know they were missing. >> okay.

so what did you see? was it clear as a bell there's three guys sitting on top of a capsized boat? >> oh, no. i was -- i had actually driven right by them, gone to that rig within probably a mile of them and i was two miles when i saw them. but i was within a mile of them and never saw them. went to the rig. and i had been circling the rig trying to catch a marlin. and probably 30, 45 minutes, maybe an hour went by. anyway, i went back on the bottom of the boat. i was sitting back there by myself. and getting ready because i just -- i knew it was -- there's fish jumping everywhere. i knew it was fixing to be good. i was sitting on the back of the boat kind of looking out across the horizon and i saw something. just a -- you know, didn't know if it was a splash of the fish, didn't know what it was. and looked and i didn't see it again. so i just kind of sat there kind of looking around, looking around. about two or three minutes later i saw it again. i said, daggum, there is something over there. and it was so far away, i

just -- it was just a -- just a little blur or something. and so i kept my eyes on it and about two or three minutes later, i saw it a third time. i said, daggum, there is something over there. so i went over on top of the boat and the other guys were up there. and i said, hey, there's something over there in the water. and they looked. said, i don't see nothing, i don't see nothing. i said i'm telling you there's something. turn the boat around. >> could you believe it when eight days later you were finally going to be rescued by eddie there? >> no. i told kurt -- me and kurt was waving a flag and t-shirt. i told him, i said, look, he got to be coming. can he see us? he sees us, james. does he see us, kurt? he sees us. when that boat got close enough and it turned around, i was fixing to hit the water and eddie stopped me and said, you got a life jacket? i don't need a life jacket to swim from here to there. let me on your boat. >> kurt, what about -- kurt, let's pick up from what james is talking about here.

so what's bubbling up inside as you're seeing this boat come your way? >> same thing, just -- i mean, as many boats as we did see and they'd get close and they'd veer off, i was just like, come on, man, he's got to -- i said worse thing, he's going to run us over and i got a good chance of getting on. i don't know. and then -- i mean, once he did, you know, they flashed their lights and you could see that they seen us. i said, oh, yeah, it's time. >> wow. tressell, so when you get on the boat with eddie and you know you're okay, what's being said? what are the emotions pouring out at that time? >> it was like -- it was just a dream come true. i mean at first when we were all sitting on the boat there we were all in awe. we were looking at each other, smiling, laughing. we had a tremendous celebration. but, yet, still, we're still in awe. we just couldn't believe that we're off that boat finally. >> i don't think any of them even knew they were on the boat.

>> in that hallucination phase? >> they kept thinking that. but i don't think they knew it. they kept hitting each other, bumping each other. finally all of a sudden it all hit them. they all realized they were on. >> exactly. thanks so much, guys. great story of survival and friends sticking together. a bad mix. drunk woman at a subway station stumbling near the edge. and, yes, she falls in. she had 23 seconds to survive. we'll tell you that.

welcome back. we have amazing video to show you. a drunk woman really cheated death. this is a subway station in boston. you have to see it to believe it. here's gail huff from "prime news" affiliate wccb. >> reporter: smoking isn't allowed on the platform so this woman goes over by the tunnel to light up.

when the train arrives she steps on her cigarette and apparently stumbles, loses her balance. that's when the 26-year-old falls into the pit, her foot touching the third rail which could have electrocuted her. the train was only 23 seconds aw away. >> reporter: she was on racing the train and did not see the woman. >> people were waving but they were waving a little bit too much and they were really, really close to the yellow line which they're not supposed to be, so it's obviously telling me slow your train down, slow your train down. >> reporter: then at the last moment she saw what all the commotion was about. >> as i'm approaching, the lady pops her head up. someone is in the spit. i threw it in emergency, exactly what i'm supposed to do, stopped just in time. got really close to the train where it was on top of her. after the fact she comes up with like a big smile on her face and i'm like, oh, my god, you really

scared me and a lot of other things i said. >> reporter: several t-riders helped the woman out of the pit pulling her to safety. she and an assisting inspector were recognized for their rapid response. >> i'm grateful it turned out the way it did because i would never, never want to take anyone's life. >> incredible. earlier i spoke with the two heroes, charice lewis, the train driver and the witness in the case. charice, you still got a big smile on your face, huh? i mean, have you soaked it all in, how close? i mean, you can smile now. but, man, that was a close call. >> yes, it really was a close call. and i can smile now because it turned out to -- in the end, turned out to be a good situation. she didn't get hurt. everybody was okay. so, yes, i can definitely show all my teeth for that one. >> you said -- i got to ask you this, and then we'll talk

further about this after the break as we piece it back together. what else did you say that you didn't say in that interview right there? >> a lot of words -- it was more emotional tears, a little bit of yelling, more like screaming. but it was just a lot of other things. >> okay. it is good that we can smile and laugh about this, but, i mean -- jacquelyn, what did you see? because we're talking about a lady obviously drunk, stumbled into the pit as you call it. what did you see? >> i seen the passengers waving, which told me there was something wrong down there. and when i went down -- by the time i got down to charice, the passenger was already on the platform and charice was in the train a little shooken up, but she was good. >> were you able to really help charice out here and tell her, hey -- did you have foresight to say, stop this train? or was charice ahead of you?

>> i had the passengers to tell me. and we have a radio that we communicate with the riders, with the persons in our dispatchers and i was able to communicate. i don't know whether it was on time, but we was able to communicate. >> in the nick of time for this lady.              d

who could forget. a us airways plane crash land in the hudson river. all 155 people pulled to safety. cold day in new york, january 15th. took off from laguardia. less than a minute later the pilot reported double bird strike. said he needed to return to the airport. we now know he didn't get that chance. listen to captain chesley sullenberger's conversation with air traffic control. >> 1529, couldn't get it do you want runway 13? >> we may end up in the hudson. >> it's going to be less traffic to runway p 1. 1529 turn right -- >> we can't do that.

>> okay. which runway would you like at teterboro? >> we're going to be in the hudson. >> i'm sorry, say again, captain. >> still can't believe how cool he was. i had the honor of speaking to america's favorite pilot sully. we still as a nation revel in that story. i know you may be a little uncomfortable with the hero label, but let's revel in it again. and as you hear that, what goes through your mind? because we all think of the panic that would be rushing through our mind and hearts. what was going on in your mind and heart as you're thinking and saying we're going in the hudson? >> well, michael, great to be with you. it was a shocking moment. for 42 years, my flight had been more or less routine. but in a few seconds, it was apparent to me and my first officer jeffrey skiles that day, that this was going to be something completely different. this would be the most challenging, the most dire emergency of my life.

>> did you ever have that moment of panic? >> well, we certainly startled. it got our attention. it remind me of a quote from the space program where astronaut john young was asked before the launch, i think of the first space shuttle flight, are you ever concerned, worried. he said if you aren't at least concerned, then you don't understand the situation. jeff and i clearly understood the situation, the gravity of it and we were very concerned. >> what was your greatest concern for the passengers? this is after -- you tell everybody brace for landing and it's a successful landing, we can all agree on that. immediately after that, what's on your mind, concern for people and water and cold and everything else. >> well, initially, as soon as we landed and we had solved the first and the biggest problem of the day and the airplane was obviously intact and floating, i thought at that point everybody was still probably okay. jeff and i turned to each other and just for a second before we began the evacuation and we both said almost the same words almost in unison, well, that

wasn't as bad as i thought. so there was that one brief human moment of a little relief of tension and then we had to solve the rest of the problems of the day, evacuate the airplane. >> let me backtrack. what was impact like for you because it's a surreal moment i'm sure where you're bracing to land on water. >> of course jeff and i had never done that before. we didn't know quite frankly how well i'd be able to cushion the touchdown trading forward motion for a reduce rate of descent. so even though it wasn't as bad as it could have been, it was still a hard jolt. and it was even harder in the back of the airplane of course. >> i'm sure. how proud of you -- of you are you of your crew and passengers who, come on, they -- just seems like there was a feeling of we're going to get through this. >> there really was. i think that's evident certainly in retrospect when we hear all the stories of how cooperative people were. i mean, this was thrust upon all of us so quickly. we had 208 seconds from the time we hit the birds until we

landed. and then we had to quickly formulate a plan and then execute that plan. so i was very proud of all the crew, certainly of jeffrey skiles. i say in my acknowledgements in the book he has my eternal gratitude for his skill and courage and the same for the three flight attendants, donna, sheila and doreen and the passenger behaved admirably. they were a seasoned group of mostly business travelers and worked well together to get everybody safely out of the airplane. there was a lot of cooperative behavior throughout the episode. >> you put it in perspective when you say 208 seconds. i want us to listen to one of the passengers at that time talking about the feelings and appreciation for you. let's listen. >> i would say i don't know what the survival rate is of plane crashes but i can't imagine it's too high. for everyone to get off that plane and no one dying, that was -- that pilot, as far as i'm concerned probably saved us all. if you want to talk to a hero,

get ahold of him, because that's the hero on this whole deal. >> to hear that to this day, how do you take that hero label? >> well, you know, i very much appreciate those words that the passengers have for us. those are the words that clearly have meant the most to me and my crew, the words of gratitude from our passengers. but i still -- i feel the same way i did back in january, that, to me, my definition of a hero is someone who chooses to put him or herself at risk to save another. and that wasn't quite true for us. this was thrust upon us. now, my crew and i certainly did our jobs and did them exceedingly well and we're grateful for such a good outcome. but i understand how people can feel that way, but i don't quite take that hero mantle on as my own. >> we're going to take a quick break and i'm going to ask sully here about the other label, miracle. does he call it a miracle?

here is an heroic pilot who saved himself and approximately 154 other passengers this afternoon. we had a miracle on 34th street. i believe now we've had a miracle on the hudson. >> governor david paterson dubbing it the miracle on the hudson. we're talking to the hero himself, captain sully sullenberger who landed that plane on the hudson.

everybody made it out okay. you hear the term miracle. do you call it a miracle, sully? >> well, that certainly seems to be the name it has. just as that iconic image of the people standing on the wings and the airplane floating is the visual icon of this event, i think miracle on the hudson is how people think of it. we had a remarkably good day. circumstances were with us, and everybody did their jobs and we're just so grateful for such a good outcome. had it been less visibility, had we been at a lower altitude, it would have been much, much harder. >> well put. okay. let's get a call in. there's calls, facebook, folks want to chat with us. earl from ohio. your question here. >> caller: i was just wondering if the pilot had ever had any other emergency situations maybe prepared him for this or if he ever thought about working with other pilots for training. >> okay. two questions in there. first one, sully, ever anything

really rattle you in the cockpit? obviously nothing to this degree but a real scare for you prior to this? >> you know, in the military flying jet fighters at very low altitude and high speeds, had a couple of situations that were challenging. but nothing like this. this was clearly unparalleled in my experience. this was a once in a lifetime, not even that for most pilots kind of a situation. really extraordinary. we -- in our training, we face lots of situations. we prepare for lots of things. but never the most demanding exaggerated scenario would we have encompassed the entirety of all of these things happening at such low altitude with so few options. >> you came into this as a safety expert. i'm sure that role ramped up to get pilots more prepared for the unthinkable, is that correct? >> this has been a lifelong passion for me, the safety part as well as the flying part. one of the things before this event of which i was most proud was my involvement starting about 25 years ago with -- in an

effort to make all airline crews as effective as possible in the way of leading the team, having communication, decision-making, error management skills. that was an initiative that was very important to us and made aviation much safer. i had some involvement in teaching that course when my airline first started doing it. >> your new book is out. congratulations on that, called "highest duty: my search for what really matters." there's a picture there. here's a quote that struck me from you. and your father had battled depression. but shooting himself in 1995 at the age of 78. just let me -- and i know my viewers applaud you as well -- for letting a tragedy for a

parent like that to turn it into a drive to make sure others are safe and you're going to step in. has that been the drive since that time in '95? >> i told this personal part of the story because it was an integral to it. it's part of what made me who i am. there were many events in my life and many people in my life who were important in preparing me not only for that event back in january but for all this attention and the aftermath. and this one certainly is a big part of that. i learned much from my father. he was a man who grew up during the great depression of the 1930s. he served as a naval officer in world war ii. so his values were the values of the generation that's been called the greatest generation. and i think with good reason. >> sully, thanks again. it's been an honor to talk to you. thank you, again, for your drive to help people and to be willing to be a good samaritan. there are stories where we see people stand and do nothing. you stood and made a nation cheer. thank you again. the book "highest duty, my

search for what really matters." it's been a pleasure. coming up, another incredible story. a family of eight survives a brutal snowstorm. dad had to be the hero here. and he had to keep his kids calm, seven of them, ages 3 to 14. how did they survive that?

welcome back. a dad and seven kids head out on a family camping trip, yet get stranded in the snow. they're stup stuck in the family minivan for two nights. the kids are ages 3 to 14 had. how did they get through it? they survive on peanut butter. dad didn't have a cell phone and mom was worried sick. >> i'm really proud of them for hanging in there. >> reporter: safe and sound inside their eagle creek home. >> it feels really nice. >> reporter: mark is surrounded by his seven children, a family

who was stranded in the deep snow up in the cascades. >> we basically just took our camping to the next level. >> reporter: he had taken his kids ranging in age from 3 to 14 on a camping trip near brighton bush lake. but on friday, the day they were supposed to leave, the snow came. >> it was kind of like blizzard conditions. >> reporter: but a mile from camp, they got stuck. these are photos of the family's minivan buried in about three feet of snow. he did not have a cell phone and the conditions were too treacherous to hike out. >> it was really cold. >> when you go out it was like really deep. >> the wind was just coming sideways. >> reporter: the family used sleeping bags to keep warm and ate the only food they had left. >> we had to eat peanut butter in cups with no bread and a little bit of jam. >> reporter: but the hardest part, the kids say, was the nighttime. >> i told dad that i wasn't going to make it another night because i couldn't stand sleeping upright.

>> it was hard to wait. >> reporter: when her family didn't return home friday for her birthday, hanna shaver knew something was wrong. >> the unknown was hard. >> reporter: rescue teams, many of them volunteers, started searching saturday on snowmobiles. sunday morning, they found the stranded family. after two nights stuck in the snow, they were tired and hungry, but happy to be safe. >> and i'm especially glad we have a fire and we're all together. >> it's the best birthday gift i could have is just having them safe. >> everybody just hung in there. and now we have a good story to tell. >> yeah, they do. we'll get some more of it. our thanks to keely chalmers from kgw. earlier i spoke with the father of the family stuck in the snow and also his rescuers, deputy matt wilkinson and john moore. let's go back to the beginning. how did you guys end up stuck in the first place? lay it out for us. >> well, we went camping. and the weather was really

great. but i made a mistake in no not checking the weather while we were camping. and there was a change in the forecast and it -- it just dumped snow on us in the night. >> and that was that? so now you realize you're stuck. what's your first reaction? were you calm or was it like, uh-oh? >> i felt pretty confident. it had been raining in the night, and then it turned to snow. so i just kind of thought it would turn back to rain. and we were stuck in the road, so it was -- it was pretty much the only route to get to where we were camping. so i actually wasn't all that worried that we weren't going to make it. >> okay. how did the kids handle it? you've got kid, seven of them, ages 3 to 14. how do you explain this to them and keep them calm? >> well, i just described what i figured what would happen if we

did -- if it didn't melt. and that's exactly what happened. some snowmobiles came up and found us. >> right. but there was a little, what, two nights before they showed up you guys had to stay in the minivan for two nights? >> yeah. that was pretty -- it was pretty tough. it was not easy to do your normal things. hard to sleep. it was -- it was pretty tough just keeping things together. >> yeah, i'm sure. so how -- now you realize and you've explained to everybody, okay, we're stuck. hopefully we're not going to be here a while. but you were. i mean, two nights in a minivan, you and your seven children. i mean, how did your kids handle that being bored and cooped up in a minivan that long? >> well, sometimes they handled it well and sometimes they didn't. you can imagine -- i mean, we played cards and listened to the radio. and it was actually a really great view if you wanted to have a cabin in the woods. it was really pretty.

>> that's a good way to look at it. what was the toughest moment where one of your children was maybe breaking down and it was beginning to break your heart a little bit to hear how they little bit to hear how they were handling it? >> yes, that's exactly what was going on. the hardest moment was, i had one of the kids in my lap sleeping and then somebody had to go into to the bathroom and then somebody threw up all at the same time. >> wow. >> that was a challenge. >> how did you get through that? >> just one thing at a time. i think there were people praying for us all over the world and that is what sustained us. >> so now you got to stay warm, so how did you ration out the gas. >> i had filled up before we went, so we still had more than half a tank to go, so it wasn't hard to -- i had lots of gas. >> so when you get cold, you

turn it on and warm up? peanut butter and jam? is that all you had? >> we started with bread and we ran out. we had some top ramen. and i found some gum, whatever you can find. >> a little bit of everything, anything to pass the time and try and keep a little bit of food in everybody. was that tough? how were the kids handling that? especially a 3-year-old, as we know, as a toddler, when they want food, they want it now. >> peanut butter fills you up pretty good. >> okay so we have set the table for everybody, you're stuck here, there's a smiling face. but there were no smiles when you're working on night two stuck in the minivan, when we come back, we'll get the rest of the story, what it was like, that feeling when you were rescued and more from the rescuers.