Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Fake rescue missions in Nepal, and one teen swims 4 hours to save his family while another steals the family campervan.
Nepal travel executives arrested for scamming millions with fake mountain rescues
Many of the high-altitude trails in Nepal are dangerous and difficult to get to, so hikers are often required to show proof of insurance before getting a permit for these excursions, and rescue operations are quite common. So common in fact that 6 different rescue operation executives (allegedly) thought they could get away with submitting fake claims for completely fabricated rescue missions, along with the hundreds of real claims submitted. These 6 are being accused of submitting fake medical invoices, hospital reports, and cargo manifests. One company is being accused of submitting 171 fake claims (out of 1,248 submitted), resulting in more than $10 million dollars of illegitimate payouts. This not only shows how lucrative a scam like this could be, but also how expensive these rescue missions are.
Teen swims for miles to save family
When I hear my male friends swapping stories of their reckless teenage years, I often shake my head and marvel that any of them survived adolescence. But there’s something about that naive and invincible aura that may actually become a benefit in crisis. Take, for example, the viral story about a 13-year-old boy who saved his family this week. A mother and her 3 kids found themselves in a terrifying situation when their kayak flipped in increasingly rough waters 2.5 miles off the Australian coast. This left them stranded with just two inflatable paddle boards and a waterlogged kayak. After attempting to tow the children on the paddle boards through the rough waves, the mother made the tough choice to send her 13-year-old son ahead in the kayak to return to shore and get help. But the kayak was ultimately too waterlogged, and the boy eventually ditched it to swim a grueling 4 hours to shore. In true 13-year-old boy fashion, he credits, in part, the thought of his new girlfriend to keep him motivated throughout the mind-blowing journey.
Boy, 13, who took family campervan on 70mph joyride given points on future licence
But of course… 13-year-old boys don’t always use their superpowers for good. (Though while this boy’s behavior falls more in the “troublemaker” category, it’s hard not to laugh a bit and feel for the kid. Who among us didn’t crave a little freedom at 13?) This particular Dorset boy took his family’s VW campervan for a joyride until a policeman pulled him over and added 6 penalty points to the driver’s license he doesn’t even yet possess. His response, of course, when asked why he’d done it, was “not sure”. The silver lining for this young boy is that most of the duration of the penalty points (3 years) will occur before he’s even allowed to get a license. He’ll only have about a year of penalty points to endure as an actual licensed driver.
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