Alv
In a truly miraculous survival story, Harrison Okene defied the odds when he managed to stay alive for 60 hours trapped underwater after his tugboat, the Jascon-4, capsized off the coast of Nigeria in 2013. The harrowing incident began when a massive wave flipped the vessel while Harrison, a cook on board, was in the bathroom.
As the boat sank, Harrison was thrown into panic as water began flooding the small cubicle. He managed to escape but was pushed further into the vessel by the rising water. In a twist of fate, he found himself in a second bathroom that, due to the boat’s overturned position, had a small pocket of air near the ceiling, which was now the floor. This small air pocket became his life-saving refuge.
For hours, he clung to the base of the washbasin, fighting against rising fear. Harrison later said, “The panic kills you before your real death comes,” explaining how staying calm helped him conserve the oxygen in the tiny space. He stacked mattresses to stay above the water level, using every ounce of willpower to survive without food, water, or any clear hope of rescue.
After nearly 60 hours in the dark, with his air running dangerously low, Harrison heard strange noises and saw lights from a team of divers who had come to recover bodies from the wreck. He took a leap of faith, leaving his small sanctuary to reach one of the divers, who, to his amazement, was able to rescue him.
The miraculous rescue, which was captured on camera, led Harrison to a recompression chamber where he spent several days recovering from the pressure of being so deep underwater. The journey from his underwater prison to safety was grueling, but it marked the beginning of a new chapter for Harrison. Despite being the sole survivor of the accident, he became a certified commercial diver in 2015. In a heartwarming twist, the same diver who saved him later handed him his diving diploma, completing the circle of an extraordinary and inspirational journey
