[chris]

Five divers were killed in a tragic accident on the Byford Dolphin semi-submersible drilling rig in the North Sea on November 5, 1983. The incident occurred approximately 220 kilometers east of Dundee, Scotland, in the Frigg gas field.

The deceased divers have been identified as Edwin Arthur Coward, 35, Roy P. Lucas, 38, Bjørn Giæver Bergersen, 29, Truls Hellevik, 34, and Jens Midtgaard Pettersen, 25. All five were experienced divers working for Dolphin Drilling Ltd., a subsidiary of Fred. Olsen Energy ASA.

According to reports, the accident happened during a routine dive when a diving bell was being lowered from the rig to a depth of 80 meters. The bell was connected to the rig via a transfer chamber, allowing divers to move between the bell and the rig under pressure.

As the diving bell was being lowered, a sudden and catastrophic decompression occurred due to the failure of a clamp connecting the bell to the transfer chamber. The explosive decompression caused the diving bell to rapidly depressurize from nine atmospheres to one atmosphere within seconds.

Coward, Lucas, Bergersen, and Hellevik, who were inside the bell, were instantly killed by the rapid change in pressure. Pettersen, who was in the process of exiting the bell at the time of the accident, was violently forced through the small opening created by the clamp failure. His body was severed, and parts of it were found scattered around the rig.

Investigators have not definitively determined the exact cause of the clamp failure, but it is believed to be a combination of human error and inadequate maintenance.

The picture below is one of the victims bodies.

-Mod Edit 18 May 2026: Was sent the pdf file from Aura (thank you!) but it turns out it's already attached. I went ahead and screenshotted it and attaching those images here. ~WM

[commondenom]

holy crap.... so basically he exploded.. that's pretty hardcore.

check even his watch exploded.

[vagabond]

Do you implode or explode when that happens?

[LadyCPlum]

Holy mother of fucking shit.....

[minka1]

Just blew up. Terrible.

[FunkPumpkin]

'spwoded!

I sat here for several minutes, trying to imagine the process. Nothing short of a nightmare.

[nyazzip]

Do you implode or explode when that happens?

EXplode. high pressure to low pressure.

[Lythal]

Crap that would have been crazy to watch!

[kustom80]

I'd have loved to have seen that. I bet it was painless, they'd have been dead in an instant.

[cortdb]

holy shit chris! ive been looking for a real photo of this for at least 10 years! please find more !!!! thanks