r/interesting • u/Green____cat • Oct 04 '24

In 1976, Shavarsh Karapetyan, an Armenian Olympic swimmer, saves 20 people trapped in a bus that sank 80' offshore. It took him several hours to save them all, and he suffered injuries that put him in the hospital for 45 days—it ended his Olympic career. HISTORY

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44

u/vincecarterskneecart Oct 04 '24

how did they survive underwater for several hours?

75

u/Professional-Bit3280 Oct 04 '24

Air pockets form when things sink. There is a guy who was at the bottom of the ocean after his boat sunk for like several days once. The boat flipped over creating an upside down “U” shape with the edges touching the ocean floor. So the air that was there when it went down got trapped in the top of the upside down “U”, which happened to be enough oxygen for several days for just one guy.

1

u/qpokqpok Oct 05 '24

Was he a cook?

-11

u/holdnobags Oct 04 '24

lol this isn’t what happened

12

u/FidjiC7 Oct 04 '24

Enlighten us then, wise man.

9

u/Southern-Rub- Oct 04 '24

The man was in a bathroom that didn't completely flood when the ship sank.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1940338/man-rescued-alive-shipwreck-harrison-okene

7

u/GranolaCola Oct 04 '24

Same idea. Just BIG air pocket.

1

u/holdnobags Oct 04 '24

the bus wasn’t fully submerged with air pockets, it was partially submerged