A man trapped in an air pocket of a sunken ship for three days was discovered by divers, turning a search for dead bodies into a rescue operation. DCN Diving recently released a video capturing the intense rescue. The chef, Harrison Okene 29, was on an oil company’s ship when it capsized and sunk 100 feet into the ocean off the coast of Nigeria in May because of heavy ocean swells, Reuters reported at the time. As the ship began to sink, Okene was washed away by the rushing water. “Three guys were in front of me and suddenly water rushed in full force,” he told Reuters. ” I saw the first one, the second one, the third one just washed away. I knew these guys were dead.” Out of all 12 crew members, Okene was the only survivor of the ship, surviving by finding an air pocket in the ship. Okene began pulling off paneling from the walls in hopes of using it for a raft. He drank Coca Cola for three days because he was unable to eat or drink water according to BBC News. Being in the water for so long, it started to take the skin off his body and tongue. ” I was in the water in total darkness just thinking it’s the end.” he said.” I kept thinking the water was going to fill up the room but it did not.” Surviving in pitch-black conditions, Okene said he knew he wasn’t alone. “I couldn’t see anything, but I could perceive the dead bodies of my crew were nearby,” he said. “I could smell them. The fish came in and began eating the bodies. I could hear the sound. It was horror.” According to The Metro DCN Diving, a South African diving team thought they were diving down into the ship to recover bodies. Nico Van Heerden, a diver with the team, took a video that featured high-pitched voices. Gizmodo reported this is due to a helium-oxygen mix used in deeper dives. Swimming through murky water, Van Heerden’s supervisor Colby Werrett helped him get through a connected microphone on the surface control. At about 5:30 on the video, Van Heerden swims upon what he believes is a dead body. “There’s someone in the water,” he says. The diver reached for the man’s hand, and when he did the hand suddenly squeezed his. “He’s alive, he’s alive!” Werrett shouts. As the diver surfaces into the air pocket he sees Okene naked with only his underwear, looking confused and disoriented, according to the Huffington Post. Van Heerden’s supervisor tells him to comfort Okene by patting him on the shoulder and giving him a thumbs up. While the diver is preparing Okene with a face mask, Werrett talks him through the steps. “You mustn’t panic, you must listen to me,” Werrett tells Okene. Chef Okene’s rescue was far from over. After his long ordeal, Okene had 60 hours of decompression in a chamber to rid his body of excess nitrogen before being brought up to the surface, according to Slate. Any excess nitrogen could have created “lethal gas bubbles in his body,” according to Gizmodo. Okene told Reuters that he called on God, and that he believes his rescue was a miracle. He has a positive outlook but the event still haunts him he said. “When I am at home sometimes it feels like the bed I am sleeping in is sinking,” he said.”I think I’m still in the sea again. I jump up and I scream.”
