Have you heard of the remarkable story of a man who survived after being trapped under the Atlantic Ocean for 3 days?
The exceptional man is no other than Harrison Okene. Okene worked as a chef in an oil-drilling ship. May 26, 2013, was when the Jascon 4 ship sailed the Atlantic ocean, the ship where Okene was on board. The tankers of the ship were filled with oil hence it was fully loaded, disregarding the unpleasant weather and huge waves.
Around 5 am when Okene was awakened by the sudden call of nature. He immediately went to the bathroom to pee when he felt huge powerful waves consequently struck their ship. The ship then capsized not long after. The water quickly went inside the ship, drowning his 11 comrades. When Okene finally managed to come out of the bathroom, which was also flooded with water, he saw the lifeless bodies of his comrades floating in the room. He was so scared screaming and praying for help. At that time, he knew, he can only rely on his faith. A wave then carried him to another bathroom which fortunately contains a big air pocket. He was only holding to an upturned wash-basin with his head facing upward and half his body in the water. A few minutes after, he felt that their ship had already touched the seabed which is at 100 feet.
A follow-up rescue operation was immediately conducted. The rescuers then throw an anchor to the wrecked ship. He heard the sound of the anchor thus quickly made noises by banging on the wall, but no one has ever heard him. The rescuers did not hear him as they were not yet ready to reach such depth. After 24 hours of staying in the bathroom, Okene decided to look for an exit which eventually led him to the engineer's office. He was really fortunate as the engineer's office had a much bigger air pocket. However, his body started to feel cold as he's been staying in the water for too long. It was dangerous because he might die of hypothermia. He then found a platform to keep his body away from the water. He even drank seawater to lessen his thirst and hunger.
At most times, he's just eagerly praying to God for rescue and even promised to never return to sea again once rescued. A dive support vessel then came to retrieve the crew's bodies. Six professional deep-sea divers were divided into 2 teams to retrieve the bodies. A supervisor was staying inside the vessel to monitor the retrieval operation through the divers' camera. A diver named Nico Van Heerden entered a door leading towards the main deck. While Nico was swimming smoothly, he felt a hand touched him. Though Nico shivered, he chose to ignore it thinking it was just some huge fish. However, the supervisor who monitored the cameras saw the hand that touched Nico in the video. The supervisor immediately yelled on the microphone saying there was a survivor.
The divers then finally found Okene and planned his rescue. The rescuers' arrival was just on time as the air pocket's oxygen was about to run out. Okene was then successfully rescued through a diving bell.
Indeed, nothing is ever impossible when we entrust our life to God. When our faith is bigger than our fears, know that we can conquer anything.
Have a merry blast night!
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