Jaz Coleman of post-punk band Killing Joke revealed yesterday that he has been hospitalized and is in serious condition after falling backwards out of a fishing boat. He revealed that he had been assigned a 50/50 chance of survival after almost dying in the incident.

The announcement came in a Facebook post, and came with a video taken that captured the incident. It’s unclear what caused the need for hospitalization. In the post, Coleman says:

“So there I was, fishing on a perfect day, hooked a good one as you can see, when I went backwards over the boat. Down I went looking at the sunlight I remembered back in 1963 when I fell into a pool in Weston-super-Mare and nearly drowned. Every Sunday I speak to my mum and we recently spoke of this incident. She said – ‘how could I forget?’ Apparently the other mums reprimanded her for letting me fall in. …And of course, that’s where I thought it had ended. I have only just recovered consciousness. Two nights ago they told my wife I had a 50/50 chance of making it. I am being connected up again, so I have to go. I am well, and I still need your prayers Jaz.”

English drummer Martin Atkins also posted on his Facebook page last night, sending both Coleman and actor Charles Levi, who is suffering from minor heart problems, well wishes in recovery. Atkins is a past member of Killing Joke, having managed the band for a while and performed on their 1990s album Extremities, Dirt, and Various Repressed Emotions.

Photo credit Marv Watson