Autoamputation Stories

 Krystof Azninski, the man who chopped off his own head with a chainsaw in 1995

Polish farmer Krystof Azninski, who staked a strong claim to being Europe's most macho man by cutting off his own head in 1995. Azninski, 30, had been drinking with friends when it was suggested they strip naked and play some "men's games". Initially they hit each other over the head with frozen turnips, but then one man upped the ante by seizing a chainsaw and cutting off the end of his foot. Not to be outdone, Azninski grabbed the saw and, shouting "Watch this then," he swung at his own head and chopped it off. "It's funny," said one companion, "when he was young he put on his sister's underwear. But he died like a man."

 The Egyptian man who cut off his penis after his parents refused permission to marry a girl

A 25-year-old Egyptian man cut off his own penis to spite his family after he was refused permission to marry a girl from a lower class family.After unsuccessfully petitioning his father for two years to marry the girl, the man heated up a knife and sliced off his reproductive organ. The young man came from a prominent family in the southern Egyptian province of Qena, one of Egypt's poorest and most conservative areas that is also home to the famed ancient Egyptian ruins of Luxor.

 The Latvian man who cut off his own penis in a drunken bet

Strongly under the influence of alcohol, the 30-year-old man made a bet with his friend for 1 000 lats ($1 800) that he would cut off his penis. He was brought to hospital in Riga, Latvia severely bleeding. His penis was with him in a plastic bag.

 Sula, the dog who chewed her front leg off to escape from leghold trap

Sula, a collie-border collie cross, disappeared, leaving her pups and mate behind at home. Ten days later Sula came home. It was dark, about 9 p.m., and it took a few minutes for the Bausmans (the owners) to realize what their dog had suffered. Sula's was terribly injured, the veterinarian amputated her rotting leg and explain the owners that desperate animals caught in a trap will chew off a leg to escape the agony. Fortunately, Sula now is ok and has three good legs and a foot-long scar from her back to her belly where her left front leg used to be.

 The man who cut off his own leg with a pocket-knife to get free of fallen tree

Al Hill, a 66-year-old man had been cutting trees in Iowa Hill, California when one fell on him. Alone in the woods, with his left leg pinned beneath a fallen tree for 11 hours, he used pocketknives to cut off his limb below the knee in order to free himself. But he was left in such agony that he could not move. Eventually, his screams alerted neighbour Eric Bockey who walked 3.2km (2miles) to get phone reception and call the fire brigade. Then he and another neighbour loaded Mr Hill on to a pick-up truck and took him to an emergency landing sit. (Link)

 The montain climber who amputated his lower right arm in order to free himself after his arm became trapped by a boulder

While Aron Ralston was on a canyoneering trip in Blue John Canyon, a boulder dislodged, crushing his right forearm and pinning it against the canyon wall. Ralston had not told anyone of his hiking plans and knew no one would be searching for him. Assuming that he would die, he spent five days slowly sipping his small amount of remaining water while trying to extricate his arm. He eventually ran out of water and began to drink his own urine. After five days of trying to lift and break the boulder, Ralston prepared to cut off his already-dead arm by levering it against a chockstone, which snapped the radius and ulna bones. Using the dull blade on his multiuse tool, he cut the soft tissue around the break. He then used the tool's pliers to tear at the tougher tendons. After freeing himself, he had to rappel down a 65-foot (20 m) sheer wall, then hike out of the canyon. While hiking out, he encountered a family on vacation who alerted the authorities. He was ultimately rescued by a helicopter search team.

 The Spanish man who cut off his penis to stop sinning

The man, from Salamanca, cut off his penis with a knife and threw it in a toilet 'so he would stop sinning'. When relatives called emergency services, he told ambulance workers he did it "so would not sin any more".

 The Indonesian man who survived an earthquake by sawing off his own leg

A 18-year-old construction worker trapped in the rubble of a building that collapsed during the earthquake in Indonesia escaped after sawing off his own leg. Ramlan, from Padang, was working on the seventh floor of a building under construction when the quake hit the city. The teenager's leg was crushed beneath a falling concrete girder leaving him trapped and alone. He was able to reach a hoe, and began to hack at his leg, but the blade was too blunt to penetrate the bone. Fortunately, Ramlan was able to telephone his friend Eman, who returned to the building to help and finish the amputation.

 The Portuguese businessman who cut off one of his fingers in court house

Orico Silva cut off one of his fingers in court in an "act of despair", as he said, after a judge refused his offer to settle a 170,000 euro debt and said part of his farm must be sold. Silva, who owns a 20 hectare (50 acre) farm in the central town of Figueira da Foz, was being sued by a company for holding onto a cash deposit on a land deal which had fallen through. When he went to take the bank papers from his briefcase, he noticed the butcher's knife he had recently bought at a market and decided to cut off his index finger, using a court desk as a chopping board. He then cut the finger into three.