[Cardhu]

When I was in the Arctic, testing survival gear, they used to tell us that one would only last 3 minutes unprotected in the icy waters.

This old lady lasted 8 minutes - for a while at least.

[count-your-change]

I've heard various times, 7 to 13 minutes for a pilot going down. The Nazis used Jewish prisoners in barrels of ice water to “research” the question.
I expect for the granny it was the end of the line no matter how short the time. The shock, the lowered body temp., all over with by the time she's warmed up again.

[muawiyah]

How long you will last in Arctic water depends a lot on your genetic baggage ~ a square heart helps, plus you want to make sure your system doesn't shut down blood flow to your arms and legs instantly.

It's good if your body is set up to INCREASE metabolic rates rather than to DECREASE them.

Even Tropical people can survive for a good 20 minutes. The record in the Far North for someone with the correct baggage is 6.5 hours! She's a med tech in a Norwegian hospital.

The lady was older and sick. She may well have been in the early stages of death anyway. The record shows she could have survived much longer than 8 minutes.