In a chilling tale, a tragic event involving six individuals and a fatal mistake underwater led to what has been labeled as one of the most horrific deaths in history, with five of the men losing their lives.
The incident occurred on a semi-submersible oil drilling rig where divers were conducting a deep-sea diving operation. Despite appearing ordinary, the rig had a history of accidents involving workers. One such tragic accident occurred in 1983.
The Byford Dolphin, an oil drilling rig operating in the British, Norwegian, and Danish sectors of the North Sea, was used seasonally by various companies. In November 1983, a team of four divers — Roy P. Lucas, Edwin Arthur Coward, Truls Hellevik, and Bjørn Giæver Bergersen — along with dive tenders William Crammond and Martin Saunders, were on the rig for a deep-sea diving mission.
During the incident, all six men were working underwater at a depth of 295 feet, carrying out routine maintenance tasks. To ensure their safety, the crew stayed in special compression chambers for their 28-day stay to prevent nitrogen build-up in their bloodstreams. The chambers provided a mix of oxygen and helium adjusted for the dive depth.
Using saturation diving, allowing prolonged stays at great depths, the crew aimed to avoid decompression sickness during resurfacing. A diving bell transported the men between their living quarters and the work site underwater.
On November 5, 1983, divers Hellevik and Bergersen, assisted by Saunders and Crammond, were returning to their sleeping quarters using the diving bell after a shift. To avoid rapid decompression, the crew had to ensure the diving bell was sealed before moving back into their pressurized sleeping chambers. Unfortunately, a mistake led to the chambers depressurizing rapidly, causing catastrophic consequences.
Coward and Lucas were in chamber 2 at high pressure when a sudden release of air caused a tragic chain of events, resulting in the deaths of three divers. Hellevik, closest to the chamber door, suffered severe injuries, with his body parts found in different locations around the rig.
Saunders survived with critical injuries, including collapsed lungs and fractures. The incident exposed engineering flaws in the rig’s outdated diving system.
The Byford Dolphin continued operations with modifications until its decommissioning in 2019. Subsequently, it was sold for demolition in the early 2020s.