Trapped by George Sullivan A power point by Eric Terpening

“Trapped” is six stories about people getting trapped in different situations.

Ordeal in a Well The first story is about a little girl playing ball in the yard. She fell down a small well and got stuck. Many people came to help get the girl out of the well. As they tried to get her out of the well they had to send oxygen tanks down the well so she could breathe. Workers put a microphone down the well so they could talk and listen to her. They have to dig right below where she is to try to get her out.

Fire Below! The second story is about 93 men who worked in a coal mine. The coal mine is very hot and dangerous for all the men who worked there. On May 2nd a man smells smoke in the mine. This is bad because of carbon monoxide which can kill you in a matter of seconds. The men needed to get out fast so they wouldn’t die. Some people handed out supply oxygen so they could breathe safe air instead of carbon monoxide. The men tried to make it to the surface so they wouldn’t suffocate. The smoke gets too thick to move around in so they find a corner to sit in and wait there for help to come and get them out of the shaft. Not everyone made it out alive.

Trapped in the Towers The third story is about kindergarten classes that are visiting the World Trade Center. One class of children was in an elevator when the power went off. The extra generators didn’t work and everybody is freaking out. The teachers help to calm the children down and sit and wait for someone to rescue them. One class heads to the roof of the building. The weather on top of the building was cold and many of the children didn’t have any coats. They were on the roof for about an hour when some fireman came and told them they have to walk down the stairs, all 107 stories! People were asking what was going on and somebody finally said that terrorists blew up a bomb below the building in the parking garage. The explosion killed six people and injured many people. All the children made it out alive.

At the Bottom of the Sea The fourth story is about a submarine doing a test on how deep it can go. They’re supposed to close all doors and hatches so water can’t get in and turn off the power. As they let water in to make the submarine dive they notice a hatch hasn’t been closed yet. Water starts pouring into the engine room. As someone starts to close the hatch someone else shouts don’t shut it and several more people run through the door. The water starts to come closer and closer to the door. They realize there’s still people in the engine room drowning and the sub is sinking to the bottom; two hundred feet below the surface.

Trapped on Everest

The 5th story is about Jon Krakauer who wants to climb Mount Everest to write an article for a magazine and to blog on a website. In order to go on that expedition he must go through some training. As the climbers walk up the mountain they must carry oxygen tanks for when they reach a certain spot on the mountain. As they reach the top of the mountain they look off the mountain for a few minutes and head back down to the camp. There are camps on the mountain to stop for a break and repack gear. Jon sees some clouds and he thinks it is storm clouds. He was right. The storm is so cold that if any skin is showing it will freeze. They need to make it to the next campsite because it’s getting to be nighttime. As they make their way down the mountain the weather becomes really bad. The climbers are in the middle of a white out. They discover that people are missing. There are very deep drop offs and they’re scared people might fall into those drop offs and die. Searchers went out to find the lost hikers. They found one person and had to drag him to the camp. They found another one but he was dead. The searched a while and got lost. They finally found the camp by using the stars. Searchers tried finding them when the storm was gone but couldn’t find any one. The searchers went out again. This time they find two people barely alive. In 36 hours eight people lost their lives on Mount Everest.

Stowaway

The sixth story is about Armando Ramirez who lives in Cuba and wants to escape for a better life. He says that he has an uncle living in New Jersey. There are only two planes in Cuba that go to the U.S. everyday. At the airport, waiting to buy a ticket, he sees that he can get inside the tire well of the plane. He and a friend plan to escape the next day on the plane. As they lay in the grass waiting for the plane to start moving they run to hide in the wheel well. They squeeze between the wires inside the well. The wheels start to come up as they close the landing gear. As the plane flies higher it’s getting colder and colder. The temperature drops to 40 degrees below zero. Armando passes out from a lack of oxygen and goes into a coma. After the 14 hour flight is over the plane makes a perfect landing and Armando falls out of the wheel. They think his body went into hibernation like some animals. While he was in the hospital he couldn’t remember anything. A few days later he was fine. He said he didn’t want to go back to Cuba so he was sent to his uncle in New Jersey for a better life. A few other people tried to escape the same way Armando did but with tragic results. A 14 year old did the same and fell to his death as the plane was taking off.