Ship Cook Rescued After Spending 60 Hours Inside Sunk Capsized Tugboat

Story from Reuters:

"After two days trapped in freezing cold water and breathing from an air bubble in an upturned tugboat under the ocean, Harrison Okene was sure he was going to die. Then a torch light pierced the darkness.

Ship's cook Okene, 29, was on board the Jascon-4 tugboat when it capsized on May 26 due to heavy Atlantic ocean swells around 30 km (20 miles) off the coast of Nigeria, while stabilising an oil tanker filling up at a Chevron platform. Of the 12 people on board, divers recovered 10 dead bodies while a remaining crew member has not been found.

Somehow Okene survived, breathing inside a four foot high bubble of air as it shrunk in the waters slowly rising from the ceiling of the tiny toilet and adjoining bedroom where he sought refuge, until two South African divers eventually rescued him."

The actual depth at which the upside down tugboat settled was only 30m, but still that would have been enough to cause him decompression sickness if he came right up.

It's an amazing story. The ordeal this guy went through. For more than two days, he was in total darkness, partially immersed in cold ocean water, without food or water, inside an air pocket he had no idea how long would last, not knowing if anyone was looking for him. The things that must have gone through his mind...

Here is the amazing video of his discovery and rescue. It's worth watching from the beginning. Apparently, the diver's squeaky voice is due to the fact that they breath a mix of oxygen and helium.

(source)