Life, generally, is filled with uncertainty. Due to its unpredictable nature, people are often faced with numerous choices and decisions that can either ensure their survival or threaten it. Despite the responsibility of making critical decisions that determine their quality of life, individuals are also exposed to events and external forces beyond their control that can impact their lives positively or otherwise. In instances where circumstances are unfavourable, they may endanger the lives of affected people, forcing them to seek ways to survive and extricate themselves from such situations. Given the complexities of life and the challenges it poses, it is evident that these events compel people to strive for survival and learn skills to ensure they do.
Okene and the team of divers that rescued him
Recently, I came across a story that intrigued me while browsing through social media to stay updated on the latest news worldwide. The story was about a man who survived after being trapped underwater for nearly three days. The subject of the story, Harrison Okene, is a Nigerian cook who works onboard a tugboat. During a mission to service an oil tanker 30 kilometres off the coast of Nigeria, an unexpected event occurred. A strong ocean wave forcefully hit the tugboat carrying Okene and other crew members, causing the vessel to capsize and descend into the sea.
Okene and his crew embarked on a trip to service an oil tanker when the accident happened
Okene, who was in the toilet at the time of the incident, was flung against the wall upon impact. Realising that the collision of the powerful ocean wave with the tugboat was making the vessel sink, thus posing a threat to the lives of the crew onboard, Okene tried to get to safety by swimming through the water that flooded the boat. He also intended to alert other crew members, but unfortunately, he could not notify them as the doors to their rooms were all locked. The locking of doors was a practice that the crew always observed during their sea trips as a precaution against potential pirate attacks. Unfortunately, on this occasion, it turned out to be their doom as it prevented them from seeking safety.
The tugboat Okene was onboard that got hit by the strong ocean wave
As the tugboat continued to sink with Okene unable to communicate with his crew, he settled to save himself by navigating through the inundated vessel in the dark, searching for refuge. Luckily, he found a safe place in one of the boat's cabins. Rushing water that had flooded the area changed his course of direction by pushing him to the room's toilet, where he discovered a life-supporting environmental condition in the form of an air pocket. Acknowledging the limited air available and rising water level in the room, Okene smartly improvised on how to maintain breathing in that dire situation by stacking up two mattresses that he found to stay above the water and enable him to have access to the air pocket.
Okene was rescued by a team of professional divers
After finding the air pocket, Okene attempted to leave the tugboat but was unsuccessful. His failure to find a way out made him lose his enthusiasm and resign his fate to chance, hoping that he would somehow be rescued. He decided to conserve his energy and wait for help while being sustained by the oxygen supplied by the air pocket. Isolated underwater under fatal environmental conditions, Okene remained in the tugboat's cabin without food for 60 hours before he was eventually rescued by professional divers hired by his employer and the oil firm operating the oil tanker his crew went to service.
Okene after he was found by the rescue team
At the end of the rescue mission, Okene was the only survivor saved by the divers. He narrated his unpleasant experience while confined in the boat at the bottom of the sea to the rescue team and how he heard strange noises of what appeared to be sea creatures eating potential dead bodies. He was devastated when he was eventually told that he was the lone survivor of the accident. The news of Okene's unusual rescue after the tugboat accident garnered attention worldwide, as his ability to survive in a sunken boat under the sea without nutritional sustenance and limited air seemed truly extraordinary.
Okene made the best out of a terrible situation
Despite the high fatality caused by the tugboat's accident at sea, Okene's survival was widely celebrated. Natural forces, such as weather, sometimes impact our lives negatively, altering whatever tasks we have undertaken and leaving us with a short time to react appropriately. In most cases, under such circumstances, the best we can do is ensure our survival. This was a quality Okene demonstrated throughout his ordeal underwater, although he also experienced some mysterious occurrences, such as the air pocket working in his favour.
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Have a splendid day folks.
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