![byford dolphin diving bell accident simulation byford dolphin diving bell accident simulation](https://live.staticflickr.com/7421/10331058776_f4518811a9_b.jpg)
This incident was also attributed to engineering failure. Fatigue from many hard hours of work also took its toll among the divers, who often worked 16-hour shifts. At the time, the only communication the tenders on the outside of the chamber system had was through a bullhorn attached to the wall surface with heavy noise from the rig and sea, it was hard to listen in on what was going on. It is not clear whether the tender who opened the clamp before the trunk was depressurized did so by order of his supervisor, on his own initiative, or because of miscommunication. The committee investigating the accident concluded that it was caused by human error on the part of the dive tender who opened the clamp. These were projected some distance, one section being found 10 metres (30 ft) vertically above the exterior pressure door. Investigation by forensic pathologists determined that Hellevik, being exposed to the highest pressure gradient and in the process of moving to secure the inner door, was forced through the 60-centimetre (24 in) diameter opening created by the jammed interior trunk door by escaping air and violently dismembered, including bisection of his thoracoabdominal cavity, which resulted in expulsion of all of the internal organs of his chest and abdomen, except the trachea and a section of small intestine, and of the thoracic spine. The fourth diver was dismembered and mutilated by the blast forcing him out through the partially blocked doorway and would have died instantly.Ĭoward, Lucas, and Bergersen were exposed to the effects of explosive decompression and died in the positions indicated by the diagram. The blood of the three divers left intact inside the chambers likely boiled instantly, stopping their circulation. The autopsy suggested that rapid bubble formation in the blood denatured the lipoprotein complexes, rendering the lipids insoluble. This fat was unlikely to be embolic, but must have precipitated from the blood in situ. The most notable finding was the presence of large amounts of fat in large arteries and veins and in the cardiac chambers, as well as intravascular fat in organs, especially the liver. Medical investigations were carried out on the remains of the four divers and of one of the tenders. Crammond was killed while Saunders was severely injured. Air rushed out of the chamber with tremendous force, jamming the interior trunk door and pushing the bell away, striking the two tenders. This resulted in the explosive decompression of the unsealed chamber. The first two steps had been completed when, for an unknown reason, Crammond opened the clamp before Diver 4 (Hellevik) could close the door to the chamber. Open the clamp to separate the bell from the chamber system. Slowly depressurize the trunk to 1 atmosphere. The diving supervisor would then slightly increase the bell pressure to seal this door tightly.Ĭlose the door between the trunk and chamber 1. Leaving their wet equipment in the trunk, the two divers climbed through the trunk into chamber 1. The diving bell with Bergersen and Hellevik had just been winched up after a dive and joined to the trunk. Coward and Lucas were resting in chamber 2 at a pressure of 9 atm. A third chamber was connected to this system but was not involved. This connection was sealed by a clamp operated by Crammond and Saunders, who were experienced divers. Just prior to the event, decompression chambers 1 and 2 were connected via a trunk to a diving bell. The trunk is the section that joins chamber 1 to the diving bell. D1D4 are divers T1 and T2 are dive tenders.
![byford dolphin diving bell accident simulation byford dolphin diving bell accident simulation](https://i.imgur.com/4GzX1.jpg)
The decompression chamber as seen from above at the moment the accident occurred. One of the tenders, 32-year-old William Crammond of Great Britain, and all four of the divers were killed instantly the other tender, Saunders, was severely injured. Hellevik was about to close the door between the chamber system and the trunk when the chamber explosively decompressed from a pressure of nine atmospheres to one atmosphere. They were assisted by two dive tenders, William Brown Crammond and Martin Andrew Saunders. Lucas (British, 38), Bjrn Giver Bergersen (Norwegian, 29) and Truls Hellevik (Norwegian, 34). The divers were Edwin Arthur Coward (British, 35 years old), Roy P. On Saturday, 5 November 1983 at 4:00 a.m., while drilling in the Frigg gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, four divers were in a diving chamber system on the rig's deck that was connected by a trunk (a short passage) to a diving bell.
![byford dolphin diving bell accident simulation byford dolphin diving bell accident simulation](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warehouse-13-artifact-database/images/a/af/Diving_bell.jpg)
Randomly reading diving stuff and ran across this horrible incident that occurred in the North Sea in 1983.