An Australian model and wellness influencer, Dominique Elissa, 30, revealed how she almost lost her life as a result of an exploding backyard sauna.
Videos by Suggest
Elissa shared her freak accident story on TikTok, detailing how a relaxing escape turned into an almost fatal incident.
“I didn’t think I was going to talk about this, but I had a crazy, traumatizing, near-death experience the other night,” Elissa said, as reported by News.com.au.
At the time, Elissa was cooking dinner at a house located near Byron Bay, Australia. While she cooked, Elissa left the sauna heating up before a well-deserved session. However, things turned for the worse very fast.
“I finish eating dinner and I’m about to put my swimmers on to go in the sauna, and I hear ‘boom,'” Elissa continued. “I look up and the entire sauna exploded.”
Dominique Elissa saw sauna debris flying into the air, with the explosion causing a power outage at the home she was staying in. She tried to call someone for help, but her cellphone had no reception. In her own words, the incident felt “like a horror movie.”
Eventually, Elissa managed to call Triple Zero (000), the Australian emergency number. While they responded to her call, the sauna was beyond saving. It had “burned to the ground.”
If Elissa had finished cooking earlier and gone inside the sauna, she most likely would have lost her life in the explosion.
“It was the most horrific thing to experience because I was only a few minutes from going into that sauna,” Elissa added. “I’m so grateful to be alive, so grateful to be here.”
Reactions
Many of her followers were left stunned by Elissa’s story, many fearing something similar could happen to them.
“I’m claustrophobic and can’t stand Saunas. This is my biggest fear omg,” one user commented.
“This is straight out of a Final Destination movie,” a second user wrote.
“Omg I’m never going in a sauna again,” a third one said.
At the same time, many users pointed out that, given how lucky she was, it was her late mother who protected her. Dominique Elissa herself acknowledged this on the TikTok’s caption, saying, “Mum was definitely making sure I didn’t get in that sauna.”
“That is terrifying I have never heard of this before. Your mum was definitely watching over you,” one user wrote.
“That’s so scary, your mum was definitely watching over you,” a second user wrote.