With water already obscuring his vision, he had to turn upside down in order to release his safety cable.

“Two things happen: the Sun sets, and my ability to see — already compromised by the water – completely vanishes, making my eyes useless; but worse than that, the water covers my nose — a really awful sensation that I make worse by my vain attempts to move the water by shaking my head. … I can’t even be sure that the next time I breathe I will fill my lungs with air and not liquid. To make matters worse, I realise [sic] that I can’t even understand which direction I should head in to get back to the airlock.”

via Astronaut Luca Parmitano describes near-drowning experience in space – CBS News.