Nigerian Man Survives For 2 Days Underwater After Boat Capsized

A fisherman survived for two days trapped 30 metres underwater by managing to breathe from a tiny air bubble in his sunken tugboat in the Atlantic ocean.

Harrison Okene, a 29-year-old ship's cook, is the only known survivor from the boat of 12 men, which capsized on May 26, 20 miles off the coast of Nigeria.

Mr. Okene was left fighting to breathe inside a four-foot high bubble of air in the adjoining toilet and bedroom where he was trapped, with the waters slowly rising around him.

Before closing the cabin door to stop the water coming in, he had seen three dead colleagues in the water.

Quick-thinking Mr Okene took two mattresses from the beds and sat on top of them, hoping to stay afloat.

'I was there in the water in total darkness just thinking it's the end,' Mr Okene told Reuters.

 

Although he could not see anything he said: 'I could perceive the dead bodies of my crew were nearby. I could smell them. The fish came in and began eating the bodies. I could hear the sound.'

After days soaking in the salt water parts of his skin began peeling away and he was gasping for water as he could not drink the seawater that he was trapped in.

South African divers came down to search for any survivors on May 28 and they were stunned to find Mr Okene still alive. Paul McDonald, a member of the rescue crew, said: 'All on board could not believe how cool he was when being rescued. 'The divers put a diving helmet and harness onto him. It was amazing to be part of this rescue.'

Mr Okene said: 'I hammered the side of the vessel hoping someone would hear me'.

He spent another 60 hours in a decompression chamber where his body pressure was returned to normal. If he had been exposed immediately to the outside air he would have died.

Divers have recovered 10 dead bodies and one remaining crew member has not been found.

Kurt Glaubitz, a Chevron spokesman, said the boat overturned while towing a Chevron oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea.

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