Man Survived 60 Hours Underwater After Boat Sank To Bottom Of Ocean While Crayfish Ate His Skin

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The Nigerian cook managed to survive by relying on a diminishing reserve of oxygen within an air pocket.

A video capturing Okene's rescue in May was uploaded to the Internet more than six months later, and it has recently gained widespread popularity this week.

As the temperature plummeted to freezing levels, Okene, clad only in boxer shorts, recited the final psalm sent to him by his wife via text message.

This psalm, often referred to as the Prayer for Deliverance, began with the words: "Oh God, save me by your name. ... The Lord preserves my life."

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To this day, Okene remains convinced that his rescue, which occurred after spending 72 hours underwater at a depth of approximately 100 feet, is a clear indication of divine intervention.

Unfortunately, the other 11 seamen who were on board the Jascon 4 did not survive.

Divers dispatched to the scene had been tasked solely with recovering bodies, as explained by Tony Walker, the project manager representing the Dutch company DCN Diving.

They were called to the scene due to their involvement in operations at an oil field located 75 miles away.

The divers had already retrieved four bodies from the water.

REUTERS/Joe Brock

Therefore, when a hand suddenly appeared on the TV screen being monitored by Walker on the rescue boat, showing what the diver in the Jascon was witnessing, everyone initially assumed it was yet another lifeless body.

"The diver acknowledged that he had seen the hand and then, when he went to grab the hand, the hand grabbed him!" Walker said in a telephone interview Tuesday

"It was frightening for everybody," he said. "For the guy that was trapped because he didn't know what was happening. It was a shock for the diver while he was down there looking for bodies, and we (in the control room) shot back when the hand grabbed him on the screen."

Harrison Okene/Facebook

In the video, an exclamation of fear and shock can be heard from Okene's rescuer, followed by a profound sense of joy as the realization dawns on them.

Okene remembers hearing the words, "There's a survivor! He's alive."

According to Walker, it was clear that Okene's survival would not have extended for much longer in those dire circumstances.

"He was incredibly lucky he was in an air pocket but he would have had a limited time (before) ... he wouldn't be able to breathe anymore."

The complete video of the rescue, which had been recorded by divers, was made available by DCN Diving in response to a request from The Associated Press. Initially, a shorter version of the rescue video had surfaced on the Internet.

The authenticity of this video was verified through conversations with DCN employees located in the Netherlands. 

Additionally, the footage of Okene was found to align with supplementary photographs of him taken aboard the rescue ship.

The Associated Press also reached out to Okene on Tuesday, and he affirmed the accuracy of the events portrayed in the video.

Okene's harrowing ordeal commenced at approximately 4:30 a.m. on May 26. Known for his early-morning routine, he was inside the toilet when the tugboat, one of three vessels involved in towing an oil tanker through Nigeria's oil-rich Delta waters, suddenly jerked and capsized.

"I was dazed and everywhere was dark as I was thrown from one end of the small cubicle to another," Okene said in an exclusive interview after his rescue with Nigeria's Nation newspaper.

After groping his way out of the toilet, Okene struggled to find a vent, ensuring to prop doors open along the way to facilitate his escape.

During his exploration, he stumbled upon some tools and a life vest that had two flashlights attached, both of which he tucked into his shorts.

Upon finding a cabin within the sunken vessel that seemed secure, Okene settled in for the long and grueling wait.

As time passed, he grew increasingly cold and, in his mind, replayed significant moments from his life, recalling his mother, friends, and most prominently, his wife whom he had married just five years earlier and with whom he had not yet had a child.

Worry consumed him as he thought about his colleagues, which included 10 Nigerians and the Ukrainian captain, along with four young cadets from Nigeria's Maritime Academy.

He assumed they had followed the standard procedure of locking themselves into their cabins, a precaution typically taken in an area known for being frequented by pirates.

Okene's anxiety intensified when he heard the sounds of fish, which he believed could be sharks or barracudas, feeding and engaging in aggressive interactions over something sizable.

As the water levels continued to rise, he ingeniously constructed a makeshift platform and piled two mattresses on top of it in an effort to stay above the water.

According to his interview with the Nation: "I started calling on the name of God. ... I started reminiscing on the verses I read before I slept. I read the Bible from Psalm 54 to 92. My wife had sent me the verses to read that night when she called me before I went to bed."

He survived by drinking just one bottle of Coke during the ordeal.

At one point, Okene thought he was going to die. He heard a boat approaching, but it was so big that he didn't think anyone could find him underwater. So, he took off a part of the cabin wall and used a hammer to make noise and get the attention of the rescuers.

But "I heard them moving away. They were far away from where I was."

When Okene was finally rescued, his family had already been informed that the other sailors had tragically lost their lives.

Okene remained faithful to the psalm he recited, which included a promise to "give thanks in your name, Lord." He expressed his gratitude during a service at his Redeemed Christian Church of God.

A diver saved him by first using warm water to raise his body temperature and then connecting him to an oxygen mask.

After being freed from the sunken boat, Okene was placed in a decompression chamber and safely brought back to the surface.