Man Survives 60 Hours Under Water In Sunken Ship

An air pocket saved his life

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AP

Correction appended, Dec. 3

Dressed in only his boxer shorts and in freezing water, a Nigerian man survived for 60 hours at the bottom of the ocean by finding an air pocket in his sunken tug boat.

Harrison Odjegba Okene was on a boat that capsized in July in the Atlantic Ocean off the Nigerian coast, the Associated Press reports. Eleven crew members died, but Okene, who was the cook, survived for almost three days by finding an air pocket before he was discovered by  South African rescue divers. Images and video from his rescue were released this week.

The video shows Okene reaching his hand out to show the rescue diver he is alive. The footage then pans to him in waist deep water. The divers give Okene water and oxygen before equipping him with scuba gear and getting him to safety.

As it got colder, Okene recited a psalm his wife had sent by text message: “Oh God, by your name, save me. … The Lord sustains my life.”

Watch the miraculous video here:

Correction: The headline for this article originally stated incorrectly how long the man survived underwater. It was 60 hours, not 60 days.

[AP]