Man's Legs Amputated with Penknife and Hacksaw to Save Him from Rubble

The ground feels solid enough now, but back in 2011, a massive earthquake hit Christchurch, and this spot was part of the devastation. A man named Brian Coker was trapped here, pinned under a concrete wall after that tremor. He was in so much pain, he said he just wanted a decent aftershock to finish it.

He was a 52-year-old financial adviser, stuck in the rubble of an office block. But quick-thinking surgeons, who happened to be in Christchurch for a medical conference, actually saved his life right here. They made the decision to amputate his legs to get him out of the wreckage.

They used what was available: a pocket knife and a hacksaw. Can you imagine? A Leatherman knife and a builder's hacksaw. Mr. Coker later said he wanted to meet those doctors and rescuers, to thank them, because they put their own lives at risk to operate on him in a building that was still shaking. He's recovering now at Waikato Hospital. The earthquake killed at least 148 people.