A music teacher from the city of Pentrinja, Croatia, Frano Selak / Frane Selak (14 June 1929 – 30 November 2016), deserves to be called the most luckiest person in the world. Because, he miraculously escaped death seven times and finally won the lottery for £600,000.
The first time, he had an accident while traveling from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik in 1962. The train he was on overturned and fell into a frozen river. A total of 17 people died in the incident, Selak survived despite suffering from hypothermia.
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| Frano Selak. (Image credit: Grid.id) |
The second, happened a year later. Selak was on an airplane for the first time. The airplane door came off and dragged Selak out of the airplane. Strangely Selak fell into a pile of hay, while 19 other passengers died. There are, however, no records of a plane crash in 1963 around Croatia matching Selak's narrative.
Third, in 1966, the bus Selak was riding in skidded and fell into a river. Four passengers died, Selak managed to survive with only a few cuts and bruises.
Fourth, in 1970, the car Selak was driving caught fire on the highway. Luckily, Selak managed to get out of the car just before it exploded.
Fifth, in 1973, there was a problem with his car's fuel line causing gasoline to spill onto the hot engine and blow fire out of the vents. The accident burned off his hair but he was not injured at all.
Sixth, in 1995, Selak was involved in another accident, but he only suffered minor injuries.
Seventh, in 1996, a UN truck hit his car on a mountain road. As a result, Selak's car slid into a ravine, luckily he managed to get out of the car and hang from a tree, while his car fell to the bottom of the ravine and exploded.
The peak of his luck was when Selak won the lottery 2 days after his 73rd birthday. With his winnings, Selak was able to buy a luxury house and a private island.
His story is not independently verified but it has popped up on various news sites over the years, and provided inspiration to David Ransom, an animator in New York whose company is called This & That Visuals. He uploaded the three-minute cartoon to YouTube, at the start of May 2014. It has been watched more than 2 million times.
In 2010 Selak sold his house and island, sharing his wealth with his family and friends.
Selak took only a little of his wealth and returned to his hometown in Petrinja, a small town south of the Croatian capital, Zagreb. In his village, Selak built a shrine to the Virgin Mary, as a form of gratitude for his good fortune so far. Since then, Selak is enjoying his old age with Katarina, his 5th wife.
He died at the age of 87.
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