The Best Rescues & Close Calls Documentaries

Disasters & Survival - 109 free documentaries about rescues & close calls.

Start with Thai Cave Rescue (47 min, National Geographic), then The Greatest Hostage Rescue In History (45 min, Wonder). All 109 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on rescues & close calls is Deep Down Dark by Héctor Tobar.

• Thai Cave Rescue | Drain the Oceans (47 min, National Geographic)
• The Greatest Hostage Rescue In History | Assault & Rescue (45 min, Wonder)
• On Call With Singapore’s SCDF Emergency Medical Services: When Minutes Can Mean Life Or Death (20 min, CNA Insider)
• Emergency Helicopters | Exceptional Engineering (49 min, Free Documentary)
• Disaster Strikes | Extreme Rescues (44 min, National Geographic)
• Rugby Team Crash Lands On Andes And Faces The Unthinkable Taboo | Trapped (48 min, Wonder)
• US Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Gear - Smarter Every Day 279 (19 min, Smarter Every Day)
• Young Boy Risks Everything To Try and Save His Brother | Critical Rescue S1 EP9 (49 min, Wonder)
• Fishing Crew Trapped On Sinking Ship After Engine Failure | Trapped S1 EP2 (50 min, Wonder)
• The Survivors of The Deadly 1999 Oklahoma Tornado Outbreak | Critical Rescue (49 min, Wonder)
• Construction Worker Nearly Dies After Trench Walls Collapse | Critical Rescue S1 EP4 (49 min, Wonder)
• Horrific Train Crash Has Firefighters Scrambling For Survivors | Critical Rescue S1 EP3 (49 min, Wonder)
• Trapped Under the Sea: The WWII Sub Rescue (45 min, HISTORY)
• Inside the Chilean Mine Rescue | Witness to Disaster (44 min, National Geographic)
• Lost at Sea | Extreme Rescues (44 min, National Geographic)
• The Tragic Death Of SAR Volunteer On Duty (22 min, Wonder)
• The Deadliest Rescue: Saving The Sole Survivor Of A SEAL Team (50 min, Wonder)
• Rescuing The Costa Concordia's Five Thousand Passengers - Part 2 (44 min, Wonder)
• Men Trapped In A Deadly Cave Fighting To Survive (48 min, Wonder)
• History's Deadliest Tornadoes And The Destruction They Cause | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• The Most Dangerous Man-Made Disasters In History | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• Mission in the Alps: The mountain rescuers (43 min, DW Documentary)
• World's Worst Disasters at Sea | Desperate Hours (26 min, Free Documentary)
• Sunken Survivor | Extreme Rescues (44 min, National Geographic)
• Devastating Earthquakes And Tornadoes Destroy Everything In It's Path | Code Red (100 min, Wonder)
• Extreme Rescue Operations For The Victims Of Hurricane Katrina (50 min, Wonder)
• Mount Merapi: Living In Fear Of The World's Most Active Volcano | Code Red (100 min, Wonder)
• Trapped Underground For Hours After Horrific Train Crash | Trapped S1 EP3 (48 min, Wonder)
• The Myth That Keeps You Trapped - Alan Watts (14 min, After Skool)
• World's Worst Disasters in the Air | Desperate Hours (26 min, Free Documentary)
• World's Worst Geological Disasters | Desperate Hours (26 min, Free Documentary)
• Biggest Volcanic Eruptions & Disastrous Earthquakes | Desperate Hours (52 min, Free Documentary)
• Why Being A Paramedic in LA Is So Difficult (50 min, Wonder)
• The Deadliest Tsnuamis That The World Has Ever Seen | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• World's Worst Environmental Diasters | Desperate Hours (26 min, Free Documentary)
• World's Worst Nuclear and Industrial Disasters | Desperate Hours (26 min, Free Documentary)
• Most Powerful Windstorms & Epidemics | Desperate Hours (52 min, Free Documentary)
• Trapped On The Mountains After Deadly Plane Crash: The Ultimate Fight For Survival (146 min, Wonder)
• The Aftermath Of The Worlds Deadliest Volcanic Eruptions | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• The Most Catastrophic Fires In History | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• Earthquake Leaves Survivors Trapped Underground For 4 Days | Trapped S1 EP5 (48 min, Wonder)
• Turkey: Can the Marmara sea be saved? (28 min, DW Documentary)
• Huge Sinkhole Swallows Truck With A 2-Year-Old Child Trapped Inside | Saved On Camera (43 min, Wonder)
• Dangerous Flood Leaves Victims Trapped And Injured | Critical Rescue S1 EP13 (49 min, Wonder)
• Emergency Services Carry Out Drills To Prepare For Disaster On The Underground | The Tube (23 min, Spark)
• Solo Pilot Crashes His Plane In The Remote Canadian Wilderness | Saved On Camera (44 min, Wonder)
• Faulty Plane Crash Lands On A Beach Filled With People | Saved On Camera (43 min, Wonder)
• Truck Carrying Dangerous Explosives Catches Fire On The Road | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• Firefighters Rush To Rescue A Car Crash Victim From A Mangled Truck | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• Emergency Firefighters Respond To An Out-Of-Control House Fire | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• Earthquakes: The Most Catastrophic Disasters In Human History | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• Horrific Crash Leaves Just One Survivor | Accident Investigator S1 EP4 (49 min, Wonder)
• Pulse Nightclub Survivors: How Their Lives Were Saved (52 min, ENDEVR)
• Wild Rescue: Servals & Baboons | Malawi Wildlife Rescue 204 (50 min, Love Nature)
• The SAS Rescue That Should Have Been Impossible (50 min, Wonder)
• Heart-Pounding Truck Rollover Rescue | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• Firefighters Tackle Deadly Chemical Fire On Blazing Truck | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• Unlikely Survival When A Mountain Climb Turns Deadly | Saved on Camera (44 min, Wonder)
• The Worlds Scariest Plane Crashes And Flight 587 | Code Red (51 min, Wonder)
• Getting Hooked Up To Lethal Voltage | Nerves of Steel (46 min, Wonder)
• Catastrophes That Changed The Course of Human Space Travel | Code Red (50 min, Spark)
• Infernal Tales of Survival from Canada's Wildfire Frontlines | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• Stranded Crew On Capsized Ship Desperately Need Rescuing | Saved on Camera (44 min, Wonder)
• The Dangers Of Being A Master Pilot | Nerves of Steel (46 min, Wonder)
• The Vet That Treats The Worlds Deadliest Animals | Nerves of Steel (46 min, Wonder)
• The Workers That Have To Swim In Public Sewage | Nerves of Steel (46 min, Wonder)
• The Most Horrifying Cyclones That Destroyed Entire Cities | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• These Floods Destroyed The Lives of Anyone In It's Path | Code Red (50 min, Wonder)
• Filipino Inferno Hunters | Manila: Citizen Firefighters | No Ordinary Rescue (46 min, Free Documentary)
• Extreme Jobs: LA Drug Cops, Crane Operator, Bangkok Paramedic | Retro Docs (25 min, Free Documentary)
• Vet Races to Save a Sea Lion Trapped by Plastic | Wild Pacific Rescue 101 (50 min, Love Nature)
• When Water Kills: Rip-Current Heroes (50 min, Real Stories)
• The Woman Who Saved Star Trek: Superfans Who Rescued Their Shows (54 min, Real Stories)
• What Happens When a Rescue Helicopter Fails Mid-Air? (22 min, Wonder)
• Burning Vehicle Turns Into Crime Scene | Hellfire Heroes (44 min, Wonder)
• Brave Firefighters Battle Roadside Wildfires | Hellfire Heroes (45 min, Wonder)
• The Most Devastating Floods And Fires That Left Lives In Ruins | Code Red (99 min, Wonder)
• These Employees Risk Their Lives Every Day | Nerves of Steel (46 min, Wonder)
• Why Is This Job The Deadliest In The World? | Nerves of Steel (46 min, Wonder)
• The Deadliest Epidemics In Human History | Desperate Hours (26 min, Wonder)

Top-Rated Books About Rescues & Close Calls

1. Deep Down Dark by Héctor Tobar - View on Amazon
2. Alive by Piers Paul Read (3.8/5) - View on Amazon
3. Endurance by Alfred Lansing (4.6/5) - View on Amazon
4. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger (4.1/5) - View on Amazon