The Only Survivor of an Entire City’s Destruction Was a Man Locked in a Prison Cell

In May 1902, the volcano Mont Pelée on the Caribbean island of Martinique erupted with a violent cloud of superheated gas and ash that destroyed the city of Saint-Pierre within minutes, killing nearly all of its residents.

The death toll is estimated at somewhere between ten and thirty thousand people — the disaster remains one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in recorded history.

Among the few survivors was Ludger Sylbaris, a prisoner held in an underground, thick-walled, windowless cell originally meant to isolate the most dangerous inmates — the thick walls shielded him from the blast of heat.

Sylbaris survived with severe burns and was found several days after the disaster — after recovering, he was pardoned, and his story drew worldwide media attention as an almost unbelievable case of survival.