Photo: LegasC/Depositphotos(Not a photo of the actual event.)
In 2013,Harrison Okenes life changed forever.
The story of how he survived is an incredible tale of fate and perseverance.
Photo: LegasC/Depositphotos(Not a photo of the actual event.)
Just before 5 a.m., a rogue wave snapped the tugboat’s tie line and flipped it over.
Most of the crew were locked in their cabins.
But Okene had just left his to use the toilet and was in the bathroom at the time.
Photo: agiampiccolo/Depositphotos(Not a photo of the actual event.)
That’s when he saw several of his crewmates being sucked into the sea.
It was there in the bathroom that, miraculously, he found a pocket of air.
While small, this air pocket was key to his survival.
But to make it out alive, he also had to think about hypothermia.
All around me was just black, and noisy, Okenerecalled.
I was crying and calling on Jesus to rescue me, I prayed so hard.
I was so hungry and thirsty and cold and I was just praying to see some kind of light.
Photo: agiampiccolo/Depositphotos(Not a photo of the actual event.)
I heard a sound of a hammer hitting the vessel, hesaid.
Boom, boom, boom.
I swam down and found a water dispenser.
I pulled the water filter and I hammered the side of the vessel hoping someone would hear me.
Then the diver must have heard a sound.
At first, Okene reached out to touch him.
How it wasn’t full of water is anyone’s guess.
I would say someone was looking after him.
Still, Okene’s ordeal was not over.
But before he could get to safety, the divers needed to think of how to move him.
After being underwater at that depth for so long, his body had absorbed a large quantity of nitrogen.
If he’d immediately been brought back to the surface, he would have had a heart attack.
From there, he spent two days in a decompression chamber to normalize his body pressure.
It was then that he learned the fate of his crewmates.
Divers had recovered 10 bodies, while one was never found.
Okene was the only survivor.
I dont know what stopped the water from filling that room, the grateful survivor admitted.
I was calling on God.
It was a miracle.
While Okene is grateful to be alive, he was left with PTSD from the experience.
Still, in time, he’s started to move on with his life.
Right after the accident, he vowed never to return to the ocean.
But, two years later he faced his fears and became a certified commercial diver.
