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Episode 356:

Tugboat of Life

Survival Story of Harrison Okene

Karen

...

Georgia

Episode 356: Tugboat of Life

This week, Karen tells Georgia the rescue and survival story of Harrison Okene.

Listen on Apple Podcasts.
Survival Story of Harrison Okene Notes:

Header Image Source: Photo by Cristian Palmer on Unsplash 

 

"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 stabilizing 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..."

-Source: “Nigerian cook survives two days under sea in shipwreck air bubble” by Joe Brock (Reuters)

Survival Story of Harrison Okene

Karen's Episode Sources

  1. “Raw: Divers Find Man Alive in Sunken Tugboat” (Associated Press)
  2. “The man who survived two-and-a-half days trapped on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean” by Raffaella Ciccarelli (9News) 2022
  3. “Nigerian cook survives two days under sea in shipwreck air bubble” by Joe Brock (Reuters) 2013
  4. “Nigerian survives two days at sea, in underwater air pocket” (BBC News) 2013
  5. “Harrison Odjegba Okene survived 3 days in air bubble underwater” (CBC/Associated Press) 2013
  6. “The Science Behind Man Surviving Underwater for Three Days” by Tanya Basu (National Geographic) 2013
  7. “9th year after three days shipwreck survival in the ocean” (Harrison Ojegba Okene’s YouTube channel)
  8. “Nigerian sailor 'a phenomenon' for surviving in air pocket for 60 hours” by Monica Mark (The Guardian) 2013
  9. “Dive describes finding chef alive in sunken boat” (BBC News) 2013
  10. “Nigerian survivor will never go to sea again” (Associated Press) 2013
  11. “Great Survival Stories: Harrison Okene, the Accidental Aquanaut” (ExplorersWeb) 2021
  12. “Did Fick’s Law save Harrison Odjegba Okene?” by David Latchman (2013)
  13. “Harrison Okene rescued from capsized tugboat” by Alison Starling (WJLA) 2013
  14. “9 Things That Are 100 Feet Tall” (Measuring Stuff) 2021