Cook survives in sunk ship's air pocket for sixty hours, found by salvage divers

[CEngelbrecht]

This story seriously f... me up:

Ship's cook Harrison Okene survives two days in four-foot air bubble under capsized boat - Mirror Online

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IonrazXVu4Q]Amazing Atlantic Ocean rescue - BBC World News interview - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Apneaddict]

If he's able to speak about it and be articulate, he could easily parlay that experience into a motivational speaking career and book deal.

Does it make sense that he needed 60 hrs of decompression? Not sure the air he was breathing was compressed, just ambient air that was trapped and sunk 30m in a heavy / rigid pocket (ship's hull). At most his torso was submerged.

It was basically like a submarine, from what I can tell.

I think that would frustrate me as much as the first 60 hrs in the air pocket!

Note that I know nothing about SCUBA - I'm a Freediver purist, so some of this decompression stuff isn't second nature.

 

[jschultzdanmark]

60 hrs in cold water, in the dark, alone, on the bottom of the sea - I'd go bonkers

Re. pressure: take a sub and submerge it to 30 meters. Internal pressure is 1ATM. Breach the hull and allow seawater at 4ATM in, and you have the same scenario: ambient pressure will affect trapped air pockets and pressurize them. Hence the need to decompress. Sound right?

 

[Yeti]

Probably not the most pleasant way to spend 60hrs........although it could have been in the engine room with nothing to eat! Lucky cook!

 

[BatRay]

Seems like the decompression is a reasonable precaution. It would be unfortunate if he survived his ordeal underwater, only to die of decompression sickness. I wouldn't blame him if he never looked at the sea again.

 

[Bill McIntyre]

Seems like the decompression is a reasonable precaution. It would be unfortunate if he survived his ordeal underwater, only to die of decompression sickness. I wouldn't blame him if he never looked at the sea again.

It wasn't just reasonable, it was essential. He had been breathing air at the same pressure as ambient water pressure, exactly as if he had been using scuba gear.

 

[CEngelbrecht]

It wasn't just reasonable, it was essential. He had been breathing air at the same pressure as ambient water pressure, exactly as if he had been using scuba gear.

Cudos for picking up on it while being down there and not just saying, "We have to get this dude out right now!"
Somebody buy 'em a beer, if you meet them. And Okene, too.

 

[CEngelbrecht]

A little more on how to survive 60 hours in an air pocket.
It seems the sea water may have absorbed much of the building CO2, allowing Okene to survive longer.

Harrison Okene?s survival story presents intriguing physics puzzle | Swimmer's Daily

A 3D illustration of the man's ordeal:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPtkEhfxxko]Nigerian man survives two days under water in capsized tugboat - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Insidethestorm]

HA! Good for him. I probably would have eaten my speargun 10 hours into it thinking I was never gonna be rescued.

 

[neutrino]

SIngle chance is a galaxy of hope.

 

[CEngelbrecht]

Recently released video from the salvage divers:



Circa 5.45 in, you hear the topside supervisor go:
"F(...)ing hell, I don't know what we're gonna do now."