On May 28, 2013, during a salvage operation of the capsized Jacson-4 vessel, situated 100 feet beneath the ocean’s surface off the coast of Nigeria, divers were conducting an assessment. Unexpectedly, they stumbled upon a living survivor amid the ruins.
Harrison Okene, the ship’s cook, was in the bathroom at about 4 am when the boat overturned. He attempted to escape through an emergency hatch but was unsuccessful.
As the vessel filled with water, Okene found himself trapped in complete darkness, deep underwater, clad only in his boxers. He eventually located a small, four-square-foot pocket of air and a bottle of Coca-Cola. Faced with depleting oxygen, Okene secured himself in a corner of the ship, using mattresses to stem the influx of water and preserve his air pocket.
After three harrowing days in darkness, hope seemed lost. He could hear the sounds of sharks and barracudas preying on his deceased crewmates.
Then, a sound of knocking echoed through the ship – it was the divers working on the hull. To the astonishment of the rescue team, Okene had survived for 62 hours in conditions that claimed the lives of everyone else on board.
He was quickly equipped with diving gear and taken to a decompression chamber, where he spent two days recovering. Okene had endured depths that would typically be fatal, emerging as the sole survivor of a tragic ordeal.