A South African priest miraculously survived despite accidentally shooting himself through the face and skull with massive speargun.
The Rev. Connie Hallowell was diving off the South African coast when he tried to set his speargun down on the sea floor.
He accidentally fired it, sending a 6.5-foot-long spear into his face underneath his right eye.
The spear passed through his skull and exited near his left ear.
Not only did Hallowell survive being shot through the face and skull, he was able to drag himself onto the beach and sit upright as someone used an angle grinder to cut off the end of the spear as he waited to be flown to an emergency room.
A scuba diver accidentally shoots himself through the head with a spear ? https://t.co/lA0XrBcEke
— The Sun (@TheSun) September 3, 2019
Hallowell was smart enough to remain upright, keeping the wounds above heart level to minimize bleeding, and to keep the spear in him. The cases of impalement, the penetrating object is often the only thing holding back blood. Removing it would leave open wounds that could quickly bleed out.
The grateful clergyman recovered enough to record a short video from his hospital bed, thanking people for their prayers and concern.