Harrison Okene – How to Survive 60 Hours Trapped in a Sunken Tugboat

03-28-23
Listen to "Harrison Okene - How to Survive 60 Hours Trapped in a Sunken Tugboat" on Spreaker.

Episode Transcription

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Unknown Speaker Hey man, what's up? Have you ever heard of Harrison? Oh, Unknown Speaker Kenny Harrison. Oh, Kenny Unknown Speaker Harrison. Oh, Kenny. Unknown Speaker Is it Harrison? Harrison? Oh, Kenny. Unknown Speaker Oh, Kenny. Yes. No, Unknown Speaker I have no idea who this is. Unknown Speaker Harrison. No, Kenny, is another one where I feel like we did this for an episode recently. I don't remember what the episode was. But depending on your perspective, he's either the luckiest or unluckiest person ever live. Okay, but not really. Very lucky. You're very unlucky. I mean, I guess at the end of the day, you got to say lucky because of how the story turned out. He's lucky. But there's a moment there where it was pretty unlucky. All right, for the last What do you call the tugboat? People? All the rest of the rooms filled up completely Unknown Speaker with water, but it's upside down. So the total water Unknown Speaker I used to snorkel Patrick's house in his pool, and that's tough. It's Unknown Speaker pretty trippy. It's not scary. Unknown Speaker Not scary. Sounds very scary. Ceremony. Eyelashes are very pretty. Things I Learned last night Unknown Speaker What are you talking about? Just get to it. Unknown Speaker Have you ever had any lucky robots? Tell us down to the Unknown Speaker I don't think Unknown Speaker so. Don't write it down. Don't just keep going. Just keep Okay. Cool. Sounds good. Okay. Okay, there's no guarantee was a chef in Nigeria. I don't know like how great of a chef I just know he was a chef. And at some point along the line, he got a job working on a tugboat called the just jazz confab for jazz con for jazz con for jazz calm for and he was just Unknown Speaker the boat chef. tugboats got chefs. I guess so Unknown Speaker which is surprising to me because that seems like the kind of thing where you just kind of go out there and take that boat and Unknown Speaker how bigger tugboats Yeah. And a tow truck having a chef he's called Triple A and they show up but there's a dude in the back with a griddle. He wants a break. You get the present. You don't see him at first. It's night. Right? Oh, you hear this here? You're like, is that your tow truck? No. Yeah. The truck driver is normal for him. Unknown Speaker He didn't even hear it. He talked about the reasoning about use here the what it turns out, he's like, he's like, Whoa, sorry. You're not gonna have as round a pancake. Startled hashbrowns. Smothered or covered? Yeah, I'm the tow truck chef. I got Unknown Speaker this job for winning a competition on the food. Unknown Speaker So he worked this is just so we're clear. The Triple A tow truck chef is not an entry level position, though. You gotta you gotta dream is a dream position is where he's at. Okay, so Waffle House on the side of the road. I guess Unknown Speaker triple A now with mobile Waffle House. Honestly. Unknown Speaker It wouldn't make your college you rate your service. And how would you rate the food? Unknown Speaker Like it wouldn't make your car breaking down a lot better. Like, would it patent pending? Unknown Speaker Though here I am pretty bad day carpet down late for my flight. Yeah. And then this guy jumps out of the backseat. Which star meal was like, Hey, do you want onions or no? What are your food? Unknown Speaker Drivers like hooking it up? Yeah. And then the guy comes out with a menu. Unknown Speaker So would you go ahead. I'm gonna give us I'm gonna go ahead grab some water. I'll be right back. And then you get there and he does a little flip around thing and does the whole you know okay, you're good repayment that they're gonna ask you a few questions Unknown Speaker okay, thank you. Okay, Unknown Speaker I'm not gonna lie. I think that would that's the kind of service I hope I'm hoping for from my tow trucks. Unknown Speaker Yeah. And my tugboats. Yeah, so he's How big is Google tugboats, size tugboat size? tugboat arms. Biceps, tugboat biceps Unknown Speaker typically range from 20 to 32 meters in length meters. Yeah, I don't know how to read that. Unknown Speaker 90 To 100 feet meters two Unknown Speaker feet. Okay. 20 meters is 65 feet. 32 meters is 104 feet. Okay, hold on how so what I said 747 Oh crap. That was the URL. It's not how many 740 sevens, whatever. Okay, whatever. I'll look it up. I'll find that Unknown Speaker because it's, it's so about 100 feet. That's all I'm saying. That's not big enough for a chef to be whatever. Alright, so he's chef from a jazz calm for Yeah, that was a long tangent to get to. I guess. tugboats have chefs. Chefs, Unknown Speaker chefs, chefs. And they were talking about into Harbor. And it's overnight, right. It's late, late at night. They kind of separated from the boat so everyone could sleep through the night. And in the middle of night, Harrison as most of us do. Woke up to go to the bathroom. Sure. And while he's in the bathroom a large wave hits the boat capsizes it and he's trapped in the bathroom. And he listens Okay, look at your face. He sticks his ear up against the door. He touches the handle that makes sure it's not hot it's like is it a fire? I feel like we're upside down. Unknown Speaker What are you talking about? The port where he gets out? Unknown Speaker The boat sinks to the ocean floor 104 feet to the ocean floor. A couple important things to know about this boat. And then these waters how Unknown Speaker fast the boat sink Okay, poor things about the water. Forget my question. Unknown Speaker An important thing to know about the water after the meals he prepared? What happened to the steaks? What happened to steak? So he important thing to know about the waters? We mean? They Unknown Speaker were his? His litter his ear to listen? Was that a joke? That was that was a joke. Yeah, I was wondering why just do that. Okay, Unknown Speaker no, he was listening while I was thinking because here's the here's here's what's important. And the waters around where they were at. There's a lot of pirates. And so there was a policy that they had onboard most ships in the area is that overnight when everyone was sleeping, they would keep all the doors locked so pirates couldn't get to them and kill them and take over the ship. Which was great for pirates but bad for a sinking boat. Because no one could get the doors unlocked and they all got trapped in their rooms for some reason that no one is entirely sure why Harrison's bathroom didn't completely filled with water. There was an air bubble and air pocket in his bathroom. All the rest of the rooms filled up completely with water Unknown Speaker but it's upside down so the toilet water I guess standing in his own sewage I guess I Unknown Speaker never thought about that. I don't know how plumbing works in boats Unknown Speaker it's multiple floors. So there's the bathroom above us just got an opening yet to cover it when Unknown Speaker we joke like this in an episode. What episode is this? From? Where they we did because we don't we don't worry about it. I want to I want to I Unknown Speaker don't want to remember I don't want to remember. No, you sit down. You have to cover the one above us. So that way you're Unknown Speaker clear. It's disgusting. So anyway, so he's got an air bubble. Yeah, so Unknown Speaker he's in this air pocket in the in. Unknown Speaker So what's he listening to see if anyone else got it out while he's listening to because Unknown Speaker he thinks that everybody else escaped and he got stuck trapped in that bathroom. Because he was just unlucky and decided to go the bathroom at the wrong time or something. Unknown Speaker Okay. Unknown Speaker And so he's waiting in there. They like radiator in the room in the ruckus. Got Jim jumbled up from the side of the wall. And so he was floating on that radiator hanging on to that thing. Oh, so that was kind of like you so you didn't have to like keep himself afloat. I'm sure that'd be something else he could grab on to but yeah, he was he was holding on to that in that air pocket immediately after this happened obviously there was other boats in the area and they saw this boat just flip over and sink. So they began as rice rescue up your operation immediately. Yeah, so helicopters started flying over other boats started going trying to find them. And eventually they located where the ship It had some to and they sent some divers down the few hours after the event in the middle of the night, they sent some divers down in the divers. They couldn't get in to the ship because all the doors were locked. And so they were swimming around, but it had been ours at this point. And they're looking around, they're looking, it's clearly full of water. And so like, nobody's survived. They're like banging on the side of the hall to see if anybody bangs back and Harrison, here's the banging. And so he starts pinging back but he's in like an inner bathroom, at the bottom of the ocean. And so they can't hear him begging back on the walls, because they're in their suits and their gears and stuff Unknown Speaker like is creating such a tightness in my chest. Oh, Unknown Speaker in that rough. I knew you would love this one. Yeah, this was one that where I was researching and I was like, this has Geron written all over it. He's gonna love this. Unknown Speaker I saw a video on Tik Tok today where a guy was stuck in a grain silo. And it made me want to vomit. How long was it stuck there? He got out. I don't know how long he was in there. But he's like, Oh, man. I'm stuck. And he's doing that that makes my day. That's chsp like freaking. That's terrifying. That's like that's a biker, that motorcycle guy who fell down the cliff was big news story. I don't know when it happened. I saw it a couple weeks ago. He and his buddy were out motorcycling and they fell on a 50 foot cliff. All his buddies die. Right. So it's video, like, I guess, you know, because he broke his back and so he couldn't move and move. Yeah. So he said Yeah, holding up a 50 foot. He could hear the cars going by and hear other motorcycles. They can't hear him Unknown Speaker like Virginia or whatever. Yeah, I did remember that. Did he get out? Unknown Speaker Yeah. Cool. Someone finally heard him. I guess I Unknown Speaker was trying to buy into sir. Unknown Speaker I think it was the Yeti. Yeah, maybe that's what Yeti is a bunch of people lost. Unknown Speaker Yeah, domesticated. Unknown Speaker I don't, I don't know he didn't have cell service couldn't get out. He gets he took videos thinking like if we eventually Unknown Speaker find them, we're gonna find it. Like Unknown Speaker he didn't even know his buddy had died. Unknown Speaker Hey, thanks for checking out things other than last night. If you're enjoying this, we have a ton of episodes. We've been doing this for a few years now. So make sure you go back check them out. My current favorite is Elmer McCurdy. It's a story about a guy who was born in 1890 died in 1910 and was buried in 1976. Which is just weird. The story is absolutely bonkers. I don't want to give too much away. But it was a super fun one. We loved it. Make sure you check that one out. But again, thanks for checking out things like last night Unknown Speaker What was that show? We just watched on the island Unknown Speaker last Unknown Speaker that we just watched oh yeah with the phone. Yeah. And the video Unknown Speaker what show was that call? Did you remember Alex? We were kind of obsessed with it for no good ended so weird though. Yeah. Didn't make sense. Yeah. Man, that's gonna Wow, that sucks. Unknown Speaker You think they're gonna make a new one? No, no, Unknown Speaker no, it's on hBo hBo. Unknown Speaker I searched none a search Unknown Speaker search Kristen miletti or whatever her last name is. Kristen is either Unknown Speaker I yeah, I don't know who I don't know a single star in that show. Anyways, we this is killing a lot of time in this Unknown Speaker episode. Nick Offerman Nick Offerman, isn't it? All right, you're right. You're right. You're right. It's called. Shoot, man. All right. See movies and TV something the tag is it's about time. Yep. Yep. It was. Nick Offerman. The resort resort. Unknown Speaker Yes. Yes. That's right. Unknown Speaker It was really good. Yeah, perfect. There's one we're watching right now. That has four seasons. I guess we're just finding on Apple TV. But servant. I've never heard Have you not heard of that one though. Where and so by the time this comes out, hopefully we will have finished the series I guess. I have an updated review. So far. So slow, but it's in my shop alone, Unknown Speaker okay. That shows that he does Shama Shama, Shama Shama Unknown Speaker shows, show Milan, and so, but it servant is this couple in Philadelphia, who's like 13 month old baby died not 1313 week old baby died. Yeah, and the mom just couldn't cope. Like she just like, went into basically her coma was just like, spaced out. So they gave her a baby doll to help her cope, right? Yeah. And suddenly she was back and pretend like you're one of those like, look realistic dolls, whatever. Then she hires a nanny for this doll. Yeah, well, the second night the nanny is there, the little baby monitor the dads in the kitchen and here's a real baby on thing and goes up there and there's a real baby in the crib. How is there a baby? We don't know yet. It's pretty trippy. It's not scary. Not scary. Sounds very scary. Sounds like it would be I know. I was very I was very I was very like, No, it's not scary. So far. It's it's more supernatural. You know? But it's, uh, it's just, it's pretty. It's Unknown Speaker slow, trippy. Unknown Speaker Um, yes, there are definitely there's episodes, the end where you're like, Unknown Speaker what I'm realizing that's what I like. Like I don't like like, Unknown Speaker yes, no, this is not you. I'm saying it's good. I think you might like it. It's really slow. And so far, but the ends of the episodes are like, What the heck is happening? Unknown Speaker Because yeah, like those ones that bend your mind and make you Yes, and you'll like this one a lot. I've Unknown Speaker been thinking about it. Yeah. Unknown Speaker Well, anyways, there's a baby in the bathroom. Turns out every tugboat has one to the higher. The higher the higher the baby keep. What do you call it? tugboat people, the Unknown Speaker tugboat people. tugboat people. What do you called tugboat people? What do you call? What do you call restaurant people? You mean servers? Unknown Speaker I guess. What do you call? Unknown Speaker What do you call grocery store? employees Unknown Speaker do dope pushers. I don't know. I don't know what you call it. Sailors. Maybe? Sailors, I guess. Keep the sailors company. Yeah. Okay. So Unknown Speaker small bear cub. Also a chef's. The boat flipped over? Turns out it was flipped. So they do the dive thing. They're banging on the side of the bay on the side of the boat. He's banging back. Unknown Speaker He's bringing back. But they couldn't hear him because they're in full dive gear. They're out in the ocean. There's ocean noises? I don't know. Yeah. drowning out the bangs. Right. Sure. So the divers swim up there. Like there's no way anybody's survived to this point. Yeah. Unknown Speaker Let's just worry about this next week. Well, Unknown Speaker yeah. So Unknown Speaker knowing like, what year is this? Unknown Speaker Three days? You know, that's an interesting question. Let me double check. Unknown Speaker It was recent ish. I want to say like, early 2000s Sure. Something like that. Unknown Speaker They really were like, Let's come back. Yeah. Oh, 2013. Okay. And they were like, alright, we'll come back later. Yeah. So they were like, gosh, like we'll come Unknown Speaker back later to retrieve the bodies is what they said. And so they kind of put together a plan and three days later, they three days three days later they put together this mission with some trained divers who are like expert divers there to like ship in from some other country to swim down there. Unknown Speaker Or do they call those dive people Unknown Speaker the water boil water buoys? We did get some water boys. Let's get us some of those underwater boys. Unknown Speaker Oh, I understand what the NFL pays you guys so. Unknown Speaker So he's that he survived all three days just floating on a thing? Because you would have had to sleep. Unknown Speaker Yeah, I don't understand that part. He had no food no water. What's what's insane is there's Unknown Speaker a bottom of the ocean and that oxygen wouldn't run out. Unknown Speaker While there's some interesting things to hit there at the bottom of the ocean past the point where the light reaches, and so it's freezing cold water that he's dark suominen Yeah. And he also woke up in the middle night so he's a nothing but his boxers. And so he's swimming in this ice cold water in the dark. And or he can hear the fish swim in through the boat like they can't get into his room. But he can hear them swim through the boat eating stuff. And so he's pretty sure those are his crewmates out there getting eaten by fish and he can hear them out there doing that. So he's in this air pocket. Just kind of holding on basically. Well three days later they they do this Unknown Speaker is the water still down there you think? Like he's not like Unknown Speaker probably it's probably pretty still I don't know why there would be like a tide he's not I mean He's not like I mean, if he moved around it probably would rock. But I bet it's really still I don't know why it would move. I can't think of a reason why. It probably wasn't very so. Yeah. And he was just sitting there with had a head just above water. To answer your question, what's interesting is, in in a, in a situation like this where there's that an air pocket deep underwater, the oxygen in there, if you're breathing it in, is only going to last so long. It's a finite resource. And so after the fact, some people did the master try to Unknown Speaker estimate he probably had another day in there. Maybe they said that they think that Unknown Speaker that was the size of the air pocket that he had. They think that he had about a 72 hour air supply. Yeah. And they came on the third day. So he literally had probably a matter of hours before he was going to run out the oxygen in there. But there was more Unknown Speaker we've learned from biosphere what like that. It's like he can start to like suffocate Unknown Speaker just from having low oxygen. Yeah. Yeah. And what else is significant is when you're breathing, it's you're releasing co2 into the air and you're in that air bubble, and you can't breathe co2. Right. So that's an issue as well, luckily, what they think is that because there's so much water in there, and carbon and so he was able to survive longer than he Unknown Speaker shows producing more oxygen, Unknown Speaker not necessarily producing, I'm sure you would have had to plant a tree for that. They so they put together this dive operation to go down there. And the whole idea of this mission was not like, oh, we need to save people it was we're going to collect the body. Yeah. And so they knew that this was going to be a tough. Well, they knew it was gonna be a tough mission for a few reasons. One, all the doors are locked. So they were going to have to rip these doors off. Yeah. 100 feet under the sea. Unknown Speaker Oh, man, what happens when you rip it open and he's in there? Unknown Speaker Here's here's. And then you're gonna have to pull a bunch of bodies out dead bodies out of the ocean. I mean, they, they're pretty confident. It's been days now. So there's the news, how many people are gonna get a word? I'm probably about a dozen. Unknown Speaker Okay. And so you don't know the exact number. Unknown Speaker I don't know the exact number. Okay, about a dozen. And so they rip off the door. Harrison, about halfway through day to realize no one was coming. And so he had to save himself, essentially. So he was able to rip his door open by breaking a pipe off the wall and using it to just get the leverage and break his door open. So he was able to break his door open, he swam and found another air pocket in the kitchen. But he wasn't able to find a way out. And so he ended up swimming back into his bathroom because there was a bigger air pocket there. And just kind of waited and hoped and prayed. And just like I hope someone shows up because he couldn't get out. Unknown Speaker Hey, thanks again for being here for this episode. If you want to help us make more of these, we have a patreon you can support us on. We don't make money from this personally, all the money from Patreon goes straight back into our show helps us to create better episodes give her better production quality. But more than anything, we're just so glad that you're here. So thank you so much for supporting our show. And if you want early access to be part of our Discord, please consider supporting us on Patreon. But other than that, we want to say thanks again Unknown Speaker imagine how terrified you'd be if you're a diver. And you go down thinking you're about to this good bunch of bodies. And then one of them is like you think he's like Hey, hey, he's doing a muppet voice is what do you roll in? And you're just down there and us here Unknown Speaker is that the water? Unknown Speaker Where's John C. Reilly? He's just like English. No. Unknown Speaker Well, they're on so these divers are on radio. This is 2013. So they got radio, there's a crew up above that's on radio with them listening in everything kind of directing them through and making sure they stay oriented and stuff like that. They spend two hours ripping open the side of this boat. They're like power tools, underwater power tools. And, obviously, Harrison, here's the whole thing. And so he's like, he's like, they're here is like someone's here to save me. And he's thinking through the scenario. And he has the same thought you had. And he's like, Well, what if they find out I'm alive and it freaks them out? Yeah, he's like he's like so I need to be like careful with this. But I also need to make sure that they see me. And they find me. And so. So he swims out to the kitchen, because he knew he's like he's like, that's kind of a path that they're most likely going to go through. And he swims up to the kitchen and he gets out to the kitchen and is waiting in that air pocket. For hours while they're ripping the hole into this boat, they finally get that hole open. And they start swimming around. And he hears them swimming through. And so he dives down to try to reach the divers. And they pass him before he's able to get there. And so he like, almost becomes kind of hopeless. So let's back up to the air pocket because he needs to get air. And he's like listening around trying to hear them. And they finally they start coming back. And as they're coming back, he swims down. And one of the divers reaches out and like, sees his hand and grabs his hand to kind of pull them along and Harrison just squeezed back. And the guy freaked out, yeah. Unknown Speaker And so he's like, he's like, there's one of them's alive. And the guy, the guy up top is like, what do you what do you mean, someone's alive? They're like, we have a survivor. And so they, they're like here, let's go back up to that air pocket. So they take them back up to the airport, because he can't breathe underwater, obviously. And so they're like, let's get a photo up in the air pocket. Now, this is a this is later this year. I assume that you're right. Tom Brady. Tom Brady, Tom Brady. No, but they did actually swatch his hair pocket. This is where he, this is him in the airport. So say imagine. Yeah. And they took a picture of him. And then Unknown Speaker holy cow. Unknown Speaker But then this presented a pretty major problem, because it's, there's a couple issues. He's been down here for three days. Unknown Speaker He doesn't have the strength to get up there. Unknown Speaker Well, more than that. He's about 100 feet below the ocean. And he's body's used to that pressure. And so if he comes up to shore, or to sea level right away, like there's a condition called the bends. And so it's something that happens to divers a lot, but no one's ever down as long as he's been down. And so they were scared that his blood vessels would literally start popping because of the pressure. And so he would basically like fall apart from the inside because of pressure change. And so they had to come up with a way to get him up and slowly move him up over time and like repressurize, 20 feet, 20 feet, 20 feet up to shore, it took them two days to get them up above the water. And because they had to put them in the suit transform up Unknown Speaker and like Did they explain that before they did it? Did they tell him in the boat down there? They're like, here's what we're gonna do. It's gonna take some time, or did they just start and he's like, he's like, Oh, stop. But we gotta wait here for three hours. Excuse me? No, they can't communicate to him. Oh, they gave him a headset. Unknown Speaker That makes sense. Okay, you gotta wait for three hours, man Unknown Speaker because he doesn't have I'm thinking he doesn't have a scuba suit. Does he? Unknown Speaker Well, they brought him a scuba suit. Where's he put that on? One of them swam up, they came down and they put the scuba suit. I'm gonna put that on the air pocket in the air pocket here pocket. He put his stupid skirt on. There's actually a photo of him with his scuba suit. Let me grab it. Hold on. And so it was like a pressurizing. So he's Unknown Speaker got he's got two years, they can talk Unknown Speaker about that. Yeah, they obviously can communicate with him. That's what they told him before they went out. They were like, Hey, this is gonna be a process. And so they got, but when they got them up, they couldn't even like, let him out of the water. They put them in that that's what this is. This is a pressure chamber. All the divers had to go in this pressure chamber, and repressurize and so they swam into this thing. And this was on the shore. So tired, Unknown Speaker dude, he just he's like, please let me up. Unknown Speaker Yeah. And they were like, they were like, yeah, we're just gonna hang out here and so he had to sit in this pressure chamber for another two days to while he repressurize to normal. It took them a full seven days. Yeah, from the time of the sinking to get out. Now that's that's another thing that's crazy is like they told him after the fact. How long it had been. He didn't realize he was down there for three days. Because it was so disorienting. He thought he'd been down there for like 10 hours. Wow. Yeah, cuz the whole experience was such a disorienting experience for him. And so yeah, after after a little bit of time, they eventually repressurize them to normal, like land pressure levels, and he was able to come out and it's Unknown Speaker been 10 years that you were down there. Unknown Speaker The Hill get together, like, how long do you want to tell them? How long do you want them to think it was? Yeah, Unknown Speaker we can we can we can we can convince them. Unknown Speaker Yeah, we should tell them. We could tell them. Somebody called Google Home. Send more their experimental phones out to us. We'll all have them. Yeah. We're trying to best with this. Unknown Speaker Google guy. That's pretty funny. Unknown Speaker That's pretty cool. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. Well said, Unknown Speaker Here you go. So he, Unknown Speaker obviously he was pretty traumatized by the event. He had some major PTSD. And so because of that, he was like, I'm never going anywhere near water again. He's like, I'm only on land chef. He actually got a job on a tow truck. Unknown Speaker I'm a lead chef now. Unknown Speaker No, he vowed to never go back on. Again. But in 2022, he conquered a sphere probably something is counselor made him do Unknown Speaker Carnival Cruise baby. He's saved this sponsor of our podcast. Unknown Speaker Now he conquered his fear. This is actually kind of poetic. Honestly. He conquered his fear and he got scuba certified euros and says, yeah, and the rescuers gave him his diploma. They flew out and they gave him his certification ticket. Ceremonies made Unknown Speaker his eyelashes are very pretty. I mean, like, Look how perfect those things are. You know, say Unknown Speaker those are some some good lashes with you. So yeah, so it can kind of full circle. Now he rescues people from November Dudley. No, he does not. He doesn't. But he just scooped us for fun, I guess sometimes. Unknown Speaker Is a great here's something he misses it. There's a part of me here. Have you ever done scuba at all? No. Have you? Unknown Speaker Well, technically we did it. There was a resort that they do scuba lessons in the pool. Yeah, it is still disorienting to breathe underwater. Yeah, that's where your body goes. Don't do that. Unknown Speaker I used to snorkel at Patrick's house in his pool. And that's tough. Unknown Speaker I used to snorkel the dumbest thing or I used to just breathe. Noises breathe. I yeah, I know what that's like I used to snorkel. Yeah. Unknown Speaker That's what the divers are. That's why I survived so long. Unknown Speaker Here is he didn't realize when it happened, he thought he was the only one trapped in there. I thought everybody else got out. He was the only survivor. What's sad is, I guess the community he was a part of in Nigeria is very superstitious. And so, because he was the only person who survived he survived in such a peculiar way. The people in that in that community, it's like the family of the rest of the survivors thought he cast a curse on everybody else so he could survive. And so he didn't go to the funeral of anybody. And he kind of like, lost his community. Because they all thought he was like, the bad guy in this scenario, which is super sad. Yeah. Because he honestly kind of just got really lucky. Yeah, and and it cost him a lot of relationships because of it. And he's got serious survivor's guilt. But he's turned it around or he's turned it around. He's scuba diving again. He's cheffing on land only. But he huh, we're Waffle House. I don't know I don't know where but he's continuing his cooking career. And I don't know has probably the craziest story anybody's got to tell at parties. Nobody believes what he believes it Unknown Speaker is sitting in the corner. People are like oh my gosh, so last week you're not going to believe this last week and me and my daughter were walking in the park and he just in the corner just goes I spent seven days in the sea never goes sorry Unknown Speaker doc and like Unknown Speaker that route, so 70s What was that? But did you sprint seven days in the sea? Toxic an old pirate. Unknown Speaker Yeah, they said they said that he had a 72 hour oxygen supply. He got rescued at our 60. So he was close while he was close and that was an estimation they could have been. Yeah. off on that. Unknown Speaker Yeah. Includes the kitchen pocket too. Unknown Speaker I don't actually yeah, I don't know. Yeah, because he was swimming between those two pockets occasionally. Wow. How do you get his cardio in? Unknown Speaker So that's so scary, dude. Adi. Isn't Unknown Speaker that gnarly? So I guess the lesson is, if you ever wake up in the middle of night, and you have to go to the bathroom go because you never know when your house is over. Unknown Speaker Wow, I've never had a nightmare before. It'll be that now. Unknown Speaker Yeah, I can't imagine a scarier situation. What's interesting, though, is that because he felt at the bottom of the sea, sure. We all know that. Unknown Speaker Okay, no, go ahead. Sure. Let's hear this out. We all know we all know the bottom of the sea, you know when he was down there. Oh, I want to hear what yours is. First. Unknown Speaker of all, bottom of the sea. There's a pineapple and next door there's a dude. Oh plays the clarinet. In one day, he was having a clarinet off Unknown Speaker don't respect that. Don't let him get away with that. What do you what's your What are you? What are you trying to use their float on that radiator? Here the fish swimming in the boat. And he's thinking this is awful. This has got to be our four or five. It's day three. Yeah, yeah. And he's trying to listen because you're up to the bathroom door and he just hears Unknown Speaker things either last night is a production of space Tim medium produced by Christian Taylor audio by as Garnett video by Connor Betts. Our graphics and our logo by Caleb Goldberg and our social media is run by Caleb Walker. Our hosts are Jared Meyers and Tim stone. Follow us on your favorite social media platform at Taillon podcast is t i ll and podcast. Remember to tell all your friends about us and we'll see you next Tuesday for another episode of things I learned last night. Transcribed by https://otter.ai


In May 2013, a Nigerian man named Harrison Okene survived a tragic accident that should have claimed his life. Okene was working as a cook on a tugboat, the Jascon-4, when it capsized in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nigeria. The boat was carrying 12 crew members at the time, and Okene was the only survivor.

The Tragic Accident: How the Jascon-4 Capsized

The Jascon-4 capsized in the middle of the night, and Okene was sleeping in his cabin at the time. The cause of the accident was later attributed to improper ballasting of the tugboat, which led to its capsizing.

Trapped in an Air Pocket: Okene’s Ordeal

Okene was trapped in a small air pocket in complete darkness when the boat capsized. He could hear the sound of rushing water all around him, knowing he was in a life-threatening situation. He was surrounded by debris, including mattresses and furniture from the boat, and had no way of knowing whether or not he would be rescued.

For the next 60 hours, Okene was trapped in the air pocket without food or water. He tried to stay calm and conserve energy, knowing he needed it to survive. He prayed and sang to himself to stay awake and to keep his spirits up. Finally, he found a small amount of Coca-Cola in the debris, which helped him stay hydrated.

Okene’s Incredible Survival: The Power of Resilience and Perseverance

On the third day, Okene heard a sound that he had been waiting for: the sound of divers. A team of divers had been sent to the accident site to recover the crew members’ bodies. They were shocked to find Okene alive, and he was quickly rescued and taken to a nearby decompression chamber to be treated for hypothermia and dehydration.

Okene’s survival is nothing short of miraculous. He was trapped in complete darkness, with no food or water, for 60 hours. He was surrounded by debris and had no way of knowing whether or not he would be rescued. Yet he managed to stay calm and composed, conserve his energy, and stay alive. His story is a testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit.

Since his rescue, Okene has become something of a celebrity. He has been featured in numerous news articles and television programs and has even been invited to speak at events worldwide. In addition, he has used his platform to raise awareness about the dangers faced by workers in the maritime industry and to advocate for better safety measures and working conditions.

The Importance of Workplace Safety: Lessons Learned from the Jascon-4 Tragedy

Okene’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of perseverance and resilience in adversity. It shows us that, even in the most challenging circumstances, it is possible to survive and overcome. It is a testament to the power of the human spirit and a reminder of our strength and resilience.

Okene’s survival is also a reminder of the importance of safety in the workplace. Workers in the maritime industry face numerous risks and dangers daily, and their safety must be a top priority. Employers must ensure proper safety measures and protocols and that workers are adequately trained and equipped to handle emergencies.

Okene’s impact on maritime safety

Okene’s incredible story of survival has had a lasting impact on the maritime industry. It has served as a stark reminder of the dangers that workers in this field face and the importance of prioritizing their safety. As a result, there have been increased efforts to improve safety measures and protocols in the industry.

In addition to advocating for better safety measures, Okene has also become an ambassador for the maritime industry. He has spoken out about the need to provide better training and resources to workers, particularly those working on smaller boats and in developing countries.

Through his advocacy work and his continued dedication to raising awareness about maritime safety, Okene has helped to make a difference in the lives of countless workers in the industry. In addition, his story has inspired people worldwide and serves as a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit.

Conclusion

Harrison Okene’s incredible survival story has captured people’s attention worldwide. It is a testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit and a reminder of the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity.

His survival is also a reminder of the importance of workplace safety and the need to prioritize the well-being of workers in the maritime industry. Through his advocacy work and his continued dedication to raising awareness about naval safety, Okene has helped to make a difference in the lives of countless workers in the industry.

We can all learn from Okene’s experience and use it to inspire us to push through our challenges and appreciate the power of hope and perseverance. His story will continue to inspire people for generations and will always be remembered as a symbol of hope and resilience in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Things I Learned Last Night is an educational comedy podcast where best friends Jaron Myers and Tim Stone talk about random topics and have fun all along the way. If you like learning and laughing a lot while you do, you’ll love TILLN. Watch or listen to this episode right now!

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Sources

Harrison Okene – The Guardian


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