World's Most Dangerous Places: Coldest Road, Trip Antarctica, Wittenoom | Free Documentary

a road like an ice rink it is the AI seus and slippies route in Russia 1200 miles long also known as death row this place is really dangerous our reporter Niko wants to accompany a truck driver on the world's coldest Road destination a completely isolated village out in the wild where the inhabitants urgently need fresh food supplies we are going to Siberia to Yakutsk known as the coldest city on earth the tour is scheduled to start from here tonight so Niko has to make sure he's warm enough well for starters it's freezing cold minus 40 today and above all the streets here in the city centre don't look very inviting either and the further east we go the colder it gets continuing eastwards the world's coldest road is the only supply route for an area nine times the size of Germany our destination is the village of Aamir Khan and he is willing to take our reporter along truck driver Misha he invited Niko to his house because Misha always spends the evening before a long hard tour with his wife and his two sons the smaller one is just five months old are you afraid when your husband's away of course even though I've never been there I know his stories and I've seen the photos on the news and what do you tell your wife I tell her not to be afraid of the road I always think positively time to leave let's go Misha wants to start at night so that he can reach the first dangerous sections of the route by daylight the fruit for the 460 villagers still has to be loaded fruit vegetables pasta butter flour sugar we will be on the road for long I hope to arrive in the day and a half how often do you drive about three times a month if the road is passable in winter it's cold and in summer the road is often washed away the truck has definitely seen better days aren't you afraid somebody's got to do it here we go [Music] our first destination is the river Alden which will be a particular challenge tomorrow the five-ton truck has to cross the frozen ice sheet to get to the other side but for now we're still driving on tarmac the main thing is to keep the engine running sometimes it's extremely cold and if you then stop and sleep the truck freezes immediately and then you can't go on are the many accidents here yes it's dangerous and slippy at this time of year you can hardly get up the mountains it soon becomes obvious that the reports about the world's coldest road are not exaggerated what happened there a truck well you can see here it's as dangerous as hell and this won't be the only track that didn't make it seven hours later just outside today's destination we take a short nap before we hit the eyes with our five-time vehicle tomorrow morning wake up good morning did you get any sleep yeah it's 32 degrees in here and almost minus 50 outside that's a difference of 80 degrees the engine has to run continuously otherwise it would freeze immediately that's why it's so hot in the cabin where are we this is the Eldon the Alden is a great Siberian river part of the route now crosses it the authorities opened the crossing two cars only a few days ago before that the layer of ice was too thin and the risk too high what's the maximum weight limit at the moment so this time of year the maximum weight limit is 5 tonnes the ice is not thick enough for bigger trucks yet the truck can move across this slippery ice surface at a maximum speed of 20 miles per hour if the ice were to crack there would be hardly any time to get out of the vehicle and the river is extremely deep in the middle [Music] cars do sometimes go through the ice here when that happens it's on the internet and the news and it always makes my family nervous [Music] it is the world's coldest road and on this section it is nothing but ice after another hour we reach the other side and the next special place a site for offerings to the gods Misha of course has a little gift to them sugar sugar why sugar sugar is delicious everyone likes it the symbolic offering is to bring good luck for a safe journey the beauty of the countryside can make you forget the sacrifices it took to build this road it began about 90 years ago prisoners toiling in the ice desert under inhuman conditions the construction lasted over 30 years hundreds of thousands died even today the so called thali marude is the only highway in an area as large as Europe and this is the last chance to fill up with fuel how many litres does it take 250 250 and you're filling up sure completely full it's going to have to last for the rest of the trip [Music] after a total of 1,600 miles on the Kalima route we reached the Choni presumed gorge until now the world's coldest road was just I see now it's icy and steep is this the riskiest part of the trip yeah cars fall down there all the time you have to be really careful on this section of the road dozens of drivers die every year boulders can crashing down from above and sometime the drop is around 300 feet there is of course no wheantr service here at the edge of the world so the pace of slow and steady what happened there a truck came off the road here the other day the driver was killed instantly he was thrown from the cabin Misha is tired but we continue through the night the village is waiting for the delivery the goods must arrive on time tomorrow Misha only allows himself one break after 24 hours at the wheel in cafe Cuba everyone knows each other almost every truck driver stops here what do you talk about we talk about fatal accidents but most of the time we exchange information if there's anything blocking the road somewhere then after almost 560 miles we finally have our goal inside at dawn we reached the village of Omicron it's minus 50 degrees this is the coldest place on earth aren't you always really tired when you arrive no on the contrary I'm always glad when things turn out well it's a great comfort after 40 hours of driving we reach our destination a small village shop Misha is here finally Misha is a hero here how important to these supplies for the village very very important the road was closed for two months then all the shelves in the shop were empty there's hardly anything around here we're always eagerly waiting for the road to reopen the first fruit for two months now there's finally food and butter in Aamir Khan again what do you think how long are you gonna keep doing this work the longer the better after an overnight stay we start our journey back we've learned how dangerous but also how vital it is for the survival of the villagers out here the coldest road in the world [Music] this is awesome you can't see anything no sky no ground for two weeks we are allowed to accompany the researchers at the German research station in Antarctica no Maya station 3 they give us an insight into their everyday life and their work in the perpetual ice a place like no other on the planet it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen a very special adventure for our team - here we go at last we've waited so long for this we've put half a year of preparation into this film we that's cameraman Patrick and editor Matias to travel to Antarctica at all is real adventure for us our journey begins in a dr. surgery in Germany everyone who wants to go to the research station has to undergo an extensive checkup and so do we it's supposed to reduce the risk of someone becoming seriously ill while in Antarctica the things they want to know about you all this for two weeks the diagnosis we are fit and healthy now the clothes the Alfred Wegener Institute which also operates the neue Meyer station provides researchers and us with polar equipment [Music] [Applause] now that's a sleeping bag it's like a giant clothing school just for expedition gear how cool is that what is that thing [Music] each of us gets over 30 pieces of equipment for our time in the Antarctic however everything is only borrowed and now we pack for the shoot in Antarctica we've taken more than we usually do spare cameras and lots of batteries at low temperatures they deplete very quickly everything has to be packed safely and Arctica isn't really the place where you can buy replacements no we're off to Antarctica the journey really starts in Cape Town South Africa from the airport there we're supposed to be heading straight to Antarctica for now it's still Sandel weather how are you I'm excited it's the most extreme thing I've ever done only for a few months a year during the Antarctic summer our flights to the Antarctic possible at all weather-wise the passengers are almost exclusively scientists but we're a bit surprised everything else is just so normal okay not everything the backs in the front of the plane contained the polar clothes from the clothing store so we better take them along good morning from the inside the plane looks like a normal holiday aircraft but after a few hours in the air [Music] the first people suddenly start to get changed in the aisle let's just join in [Music] then we look out the window and get our first view of the Antarctic overwhelming but where do you land the plane in Antarctica on the ice of course we're here have you looked out of the window it's incredible I've never been so excited have you looked out of the window yet here we are weird I still can't believe it but we're now in Antarctica although not yet at our destination we change to this little polar plane to be able to land where we want to go it needs skits instead of wheels after a total of eight hours since leaving Cape Town we finally reach our destination no MIR station 3 about 40 people from different countries are there at the moment and now so are we while it's winter in Germany it's summer here and actually it's not that cold at all not even minus 10 degrees but there's a blizzard raging we want to experience it just this once and get ready for a walk in a small group we set off finding your way is only possible in this weather thanks to the black live lights our plan is to get up the Hutt pictured on the right our bedroom for the next two weeks this is how we'll sleep afterwards we go right back it is only a few hundred meters but the walk is a real adventure my gloves frozen how was it so cold a little windy no Maya Station three is the only German research station in Antarctica that is occupied all year round it is operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute in summer up to fifty people live here most researchers stay for several weeks but there's a group that stays all year round the group of over interes consists of nine people four scientists one doctor one cook one radio operator and two technicians they spend 14 months at the station even during the Antarctic winter when the station is completely cut up from the outside world neither ships nor planes can get in or out and during the polar night the Sun never Rises for more than two months it's dark around the clock he is one of the over winter Asst dr. Bernard grappa is a doctor and head of the station he's responsible for a medical study that has nothing to do with and arctica but with space travel yes all over winters take part in the study this includes station engineer tour master Davin's yes we mainly look at the overwinter acceptable 'ti to the isolation to the lack of stimuli and also to the stress reactions these are all factors that cause a stress reaction the study provides important findings for space medicine the idea the overwinter is lives here resemble a space mission they are isolated they are always in the same environment how this affects the health of all the over interests is checked with the help of blood samples but the extraordinary circumstances here also have an effect on the psyche over the winter ie the dark polar night you can see most of the team members slowing down a bit that the need to sleep has increased and you have the feeling that you don't remember things as well this is a subjective perception of course but I think you do notice it besides the blood samples there are also psychological tests how much the overwinter is sleep and how much they move during the day are also tracked around the clock and there is a space simulator once a month Thomas jamuns has to try to capture a satellite with a robot arm an exercise that prospective astronauts have to do and which requires an extreme amount of skill and concentration now we've pushed him out into space not good no that's definitely not good but the robot has a lot of axes and you can move it in almost every direction this is exactly why the study participants do this exercise the question is does life here have an influence on spatial perception or fine motor skills the results of the study are still to come but maybe research here in Antarctica will be able to improve space travel a bit more in the future a storm has been raging at the research station for several days the underground carpark remains closed for safety reasons so the researchers have to work inside including sea ice physicist Stephanie ant this thing is an electromagnetic measuring device it measures the conductivity of the environment the scientists want to use it to determine the thickness of sea ice because metal falsifies the measurements they put the device into a plastic kayak but why is it even important to know how thick the ice and the sea is may Isis see Isis of course a very important indicator when it comes to understanding climate interactions and changes in climate and even if we don't see the strong changes in Antarctica yet it is of course important to describe the actual state in order to see where this might lead when oxygen will converse for light in soon meaning if climate change were to arrive in Antarctica Stephanie ant will be able to measure it yes now we wait what's stopping you from just driving off the weather there's still quite a storm out there and that's why they are afraid that when they open the hatch everything will be covered in snow and that's why we have to be patient for now but it is worth the wait once the weather is good the scientists can finally get out and we're right there with them and we'll find out what's hiding under this flap in the ice also a moment of shock our cameraman takes a Ford during a snowstorm so stay tuned for the second part of our trip to Antarctica [Applause] our team has now been in Antarctica for a week on the other side of the world at the German research station no Meyer 3 we want to know what are they actually researching here a snowstorm has been raging since we got here but we won't let that stop us together with geophysicist Mirko Jovanka our editor in his black jacket is heading towards the geomagnetic observatory now what could that be first problem getting there if the weather was good we could go straight there there's a wooden signpost but because the way there is not good we have to follow the black lifelines they show the way to all important research facilities the so-called observatories in the vicinity of the station this is one of them but this is not our final destination here we have to put belts on because we're going to climb downwards into the ice and how deep does it go about 10 meters okay then a hatch suddenly appears in the middle of the ice so this is the entrance into the magnetic field observatory I think the idea of climbing into the ice is so crazy we learn that the shaft gets deeper every year every year it grows about one meter in height the reason snowfall Matthias enjoys the descent this is so funny but the station's geophysicist has to come down here every other day which is quite a commute yeah it's not easy at the bottom we discovered the devices used to measure the magnetic field here they are particularly sensitive to cold and vibrations but deep inside the ice it's relatively warm throughout the year and there's no wind geophysicist Mirko Jovanka works here as a kind of watchdog for the Earth's magnetic field he regularly measures the field strength and orientation without the magnetic field the sun's rays would hit the earth and make life difficult so the magnetic field protects the earth from magnetic solar storms for example from trattoria because of eruptions on the Sun such solar storms cure again and again this is not a bad thing at first because the Earth's magnetic field is like a protective shield but if the magnetic field changes or becomes weaker the protective shield no longer functions properly that's why it is so important to study the magnetic field without a protective shield solar storms could cause large-scale power outages or even caused our mobile phone network to collapse the scientists in this ice cave are making sure that we find out about this early enough back at the research station we get something to eat and it's not dry bread or astronaut food we are fascinated by what the station chef cooks up here three times a day so Yogesh net setters in Antarctica fresh food is only available when planes land in summer but there's nothing else missing once a year an ice breaker delivers 60 tons of food and on the way back the ship also becomes a garbage disposal vessel the station engineer explains that the researchers waste doesn't just get this post off somewhere in Antarctica [Music] all garbage that comes to Antarctica must also be taken back which means it's compressed as small as possible shredded and then stowed in containers every gram is written down so we can reconstruct what's in each container the next day it's still blowing a gale but we really want to get out Tim hight lund is going to accompany us he's a former overwinter ER and now coordinates the station's operations what's this this is the ball in which we record who's currently in the facility because in case of a fire you can see who else is in the station who else is missing yes and who to look for and I just changed my stages here absolutely [Music] outside the storm is blowing at over 80 km/h due to a physical effect under the station built on stilts the wind is even stronger not exactly perfect working conditions for cameraman Patrick but the storm isn't the scariest part if you walk away from the station it looks like there's just nothing out there this is weird you see no sky you see no ground you see nothing at all yeah we call these conditions whiteout practically no contrast no horizon and on top of that there's the flying snow [Music] we're still in the middle of an interview when suddenly poor Patrick are you alright let's hope it's nothing serious so first of all camera off the next morning Patrick's foot hurts he can hardly walk fortunately there's a fully equipped hospital at the research station and a doctor the x-rays show that nothing is broken so all he can now do is wait I'm gonna take a day off and then I'll go out again tomorrow I also hope that the weather will be better by then yeah the next day the weather is wonderful we can finally go out and Patrick is actually back on his feet so now it's nonstop filming sea-ice physicist Stephanie ant is getting her kayak ready which has a nice thickness Gorge inside it we're accompanying her to find out how climate research works can I put this in here the camera equipment it's the first time our editor has been on a snow mobile and it's the first time we can see blue sky in Antarctica here we go at last we've waited so long for this I'm so excited what a sight an endless ice desert this is awesome check it out [Music] this is so incredibly beautiful Antarctica is almost twice as big as Australia and even if it doesn't look like it's not just ice Antarctica is a real continent land that is largely covered by an ice sheet it is almost five kilometres thick in places at the edge of this ice sheet the so called shelf ice floats on the sea it is still several hundred meters thick after all the outermost edge of Antarctica consists of sea ice sea water that freezes in winter in summer however it melts and the sea ice surface shrinks by 80 percent as a result Antarctica shrinks as well until it grows again in winter this is where the sea ice begins all this will break up in a few months and drift away then there's only water here so Stephanie and has to work fast she wants to know how thick the sea ice is in certain places along a so-called transit she uses an electromagnetic measuring device to measure the thickness of the sea ice a reduction in sea ice could be a crucial indication of how far climate change is affecting our planet not we can reap from the data and this is a very important point is the change what are we measuring today and what did we measure on the same transect eight years ago and what can we deduce from that what can we observe in terms of global climate change researchers can't yet find any indication of climate change here the hope is that thanks to Antarctica's remote and isolated location this could remain so for a while then we let the scientists continue their work in peace timid land has another surprise for us incredible ice formations on the edge of the shelf ice the transition between sea ice and shelf ice wow that's really beautiful good isn't it I think so too [Music] as we drive away from the edge of the ice shelf again they are suddenly everywhere emperor penguins the colony here is home to almost 30,000 penguins what a sight what a noise what a dream to be here Tim this is so wonderfully beautifully do you still see it like this - for me it hasn't lost any of its magic I still think it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen our time in Antarctica has unfortunately come to an end for us it is back to now Maya station and then home what remains are the memories of scientists who are passionate about their research to help us understand how the magnetic field protects us from solar storms what climate change is doing to our planet and what happens to astronauts on space missions and last but not least this trip was a huge adventure that we will certainly never forget forty-two degrees in the shade but there is no shade here our reporter Raphael hour is in the Australian outback his destination a ghost town in the middle of nowhere a highly contaminated place deserted and forgotten a lost place with a dark history that can still be deadly to visitors today fits in them in the 60s it was even the largest city in the Midwest of Australia with just under 1,000 inhabitants an exemplary project then also a glimmer of hope for European immigrants many Germans came here looking for happiness but what they found was death that's because vitsin amiss one of the most dangerous places in the world 80% of all people who have ever lived here are dead today wearing my safety suit I'm very well protected and yet it is a striking feeling to walk through a place that has cost so many people their lives the whole thing is very scary what was going on in this cafe couples in love the waitress running from table to table with coffee the overweight cook frying bacon I can imagine it vividly but it seems as if they've left everything behind hastily you don't really feel the danger it looks abandoned but you can't tell what is supposed to be dangerous but the danger is everywhere and the city is so heavily contaminated that the government shut off all basic services in the early 2000s such as water electricity and the telephone bit sanam has been deleted from the maps it cease to exist the reason can be found on the street okay there it is this is the corpus delicti that's blue asbestos look at this and it's all over everywhere blue asbestos this fibrous mineral was supposed to make bitter non wealthy and rich but in reality it was their ruin and still does not allow life there today that's what I was told anyway do you hear that that sounds like an engine maybe a generator but that can't be possible no one can live in this godforsaken place or can they perth on the australian west coast three days earlier our reporter found one of the few surviving inhabitants of vuitton up rafael has a meeting with the president of the Australian organisation against asbestos related diseases Robert Blake ovitch the native croa like many Europeans came to Australia in the 1950s searching for happiness good morning thank you very much for having me and you used to live in Vietnam yeah I used to leave Vietnam and I worked there for about three months and I was the bestest mine what brings you to Perth 2,500 kilometres away well I escaped actually from Whitman you know because once you're there you know you go to be there for six months and the contract you know and I was very lucky that I was able to escape you know to further the problem was with everything is more or less you know not come with action properly not forward you say job was very hard you saying tolerably in the world of dust as early as the 1930s asbestos was already being mined at fitting them the fibrous stone was a popular building material because it insulates well and is heat-resistant it was referred to in Germany as the miracle fiber from remote parts of Europe workers came over to dig it out of tunnels and separated from the rock in the mill without masks or any other protection [Music] even though there were already suspicions of asbestos being dangerous at the time both in the mine and in the mill microscopic fibers are created and inhaled by the unprotected workers and residents even years later almost all of them suffer from a particularly aggressive type of lung cancer which turns terminal within nine months of diagnosis one night Robert won a few hundred dollars playing poker which he used to convince a truck driver to smuggle him out of town and take him to Perth today he owes his life to this decision why don't you come with us well it possibly can't you see because if I go to witness I would actually show that victim is the Kai to go there our policies the Congolese he contaminated it government closed it it's a closed area if no-go area I'm saying and we actually had that at least two people actually stay there overnight camping anything on the coma just for one night as the consequences of the asbestos dust were being made public Robert was founding an organization that has been helping victims and survivors for over 40 years he was able to distribute around 1 billion euros in compensation he doesn't allow a referral to go to Vietnam without adequate protection only the safest is safe enough in addition to the asbestos thus that Rafael must not inhale a trip to the outback isn't without its dangers our reporter is expected to pack 50 litres of water 30 liters of gas and food for at least two extra days after so much it was clear to me even if his stories and precautions made me nervous I'm glad I met Robert and didn't simply go there unprepared [Music] it takes 12 hours to drive through the outback hundreds of miles where I don't see a single car there is nothing here I wonder why anyone would ever get the idea of coming out here looking for happiness let alone digging for asbestos all that's waiting here is loneliness no sign written or not posted on any sign what's this here Tom Price but that's the one three four it must be right here somewhere in this direction in 2007 the Australian government declared vitsin M as highly contaminated and revoked its city status or street signs and map entries were removed eighty kilometers further out in the outback Raffaele discovers a junction that was the actual access to the mine a simple sign blocks the way into the mine and details for dangers it would be easy to get around but Raphael decides to keep following the main road and then I think this is it no barrier no fence only abort on the roadside REITs enter at your own risk 42 degrees in the shape but as we know there is no shade here the heat slaps me in the face but that's frankly the least of my concerns I'm actually really nervous because they have no idea what to expect how dangerous is this place really that sounds like a motor engine maybe a generator this actually looks like someone's living here hello [Laughter] all right so what use it up after hello all right yeah yeah journalist from Germany hi hey buddy hi buddy and yeah we were told it actually living here yeah what for how long years yeah no you're living on your own yeah yeah may I come in and have a look yeah thank you what kind of a guy must he be to actually live here so how is life here in Tiffin home well I like it yeah but all the people went went to wait why did you say it well I come after the morn closed and because I like I like I like it this is a triplet let me introduce Mario Hartman from for Al Bhed his Germans a bit rusty but that doesn't stop him proudly showing me his garden he can really show his pride for it the homemade poo running water a vegetable patch a solar panel system on the roof a completely bizarre situation I could easily forget that I'm currently in one of the most polluted places in the world if not for my constant fear of my mask moving out of position feels so silly here with a safety suit and a gas mask at 50 degrees centigrade and he is here in these flip-flops and without a shirt but I still think it's the right thing to do even if I am on the verge of having a heatstroke you know because of the mask let me think about it I don't think it's a problem you know I mean I've been here 30 years it says here yeah I reckon the town is pretty good you know as long as you don't did the dispatches up and all that I reckon it's all right okay the big mass is out in the gorge kind of just lucky they didn't get the disease or if it is a Horlicks Lockhart so some people get it and some don't know it's not like cancer it is cancer and I don't have to be the one who finds out today where you get it here and where you don't but my mask doesn't seem to bother Mario at all he proudly shows me his city a completely different side of bitten on which gives an idea of what it must have been like here [Music] although the mine closed in 1966 for economic reasons Virtanen remained as the largest city in northwestern Australia however the inhabitants of the still heavily contaminated city began to die of lung diseases many moved away a handful remained it was not until the late 1980s that the government began demolishing houses and burying them in a large ravine that's when the Austrian emigrant marios entered his chance and begun to earn his living as a kangaroo hunter in the area at some point the last inhabitants were gone mario state and he found a new job well I say that's enough no Mario works for the Australian weather service twice a day he collects data temperature precipitation cloud formations he sends them using a satellite phone to the airport in Perth thousand kilometres away Mario's information is important for forecasts for air traffic a surreal scene in the middle of this ghost town a meticulously maintained tidy house financed with two shifts of 10 minutes work per day yeah but you have to be here all the time like this you have to do it all that's all so no vacation for you 9 o'clock we no more 365 days a year in the morning so for me it's very hard to go away but what did you get to or sick or well I've just been a purse and I have to get somebody to come here from Tron tries to do it I can't leave here because of the power of emphysema gift around the power and I got the dog and I got a rabbit and what do you do when you break your legs somewhere out there there is no object well I already had some problems you know dislocated my shoulder and stuff just somebody made a moan or whatever has to come here and then I have to go away but it's that's why I'm not going away I'm usually always here once the pride of a region twice as big as Germany now a ghost town in the middle of nowhere written or 80% of all inhabitants have since died as a result of asbestos contamination only an Austrian hasn't been defeated by the town quite the contrary what do you miss most oh I'm not singing really I reckon is still too many houses here you know Paul our kid yet because if we wouldn't have the asbestos Debbie this be a big tourist thing here every people everywhere in on my trip to the contaminated lost place I expected a sad intimidating city and that's Vuitton on no question I can't wait to leave this place and protection suit behind for Mario it's exactly the city in which he wants to live and thanks to him Vuitton 'im is not quite as lost as it seems [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, documentary (tv genre), most dangerous places in the world, most dangerous places, world's most dangerous, dangerous places, most dangerous roads, coldest road in the world, coldest street, dangerous roads, dangerous roads siberia, dangerous roads russia, antarctica trip, antarctica, dangerous antarctica, ghost town, wittenoom, wittenoom documentary, asbestos, asbestos containment, Most Dangerous Places on Earth

Id: 6-WynmoIXOc

Length: 50min 56sec (3056 seconds)

Published: Fri May 01 2020