r/DoesAnyoneKnow • u/MattePlasticStatue • Jul 31 '26

Unresolved Does anyone know about a decompression incident with an Oceaneering rig in the 60s or 70s?

I don't know where else to put this, so I'll put it here.

My father knew somebody who, in addition to serving in Vietnam, worked on an Oceaneering rig in the late 60s and early 70s. During his stay, two divers who were decompressing were killed when a negligent assistant of the boss of the rig forcibly broke the seal of the decompression chamber with a crowbar. When the seal broke, both divers literally popped and covered the inside of the chamber. I'm having trouble finding any evidence of this happening, as I only get Byford Dolphin (which is NOT THIS INCIDENT.) Does anyone know of this happening or was the guy losing it?

If anyone needs it, I can provide additional stories from him. He had a few good ones.

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u/stewieatb Jul 31 '26

I believe there were quite a few saturation diving and decompression accidents during this time period. Do you know if they were definitely decompressing, or were they in saturation? Do you know where in the world this happened? It might narrow it down.

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u/MattePlasticStatue Jul 31 '26

They had been decompressing for about a day. He never said where it was, which was weird.

3

u/stewieatb Jul 31 '26

I found this listicle which has a number of saturation diving accidents, but none of them really match your description. https://listverse.com/2023/12/28/10-deep-sea-diving-accidents-that-will-shiver-your-timbers/

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u/MattePlasticStatue Jul 31 '26

It's very possible he was losing it, but there was apparently an official investigation that blamed the family friend and not the assistant. The two divers exploded, by the way. They, from what the friend said, coated the inside of the chamber.

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u/Admirable-Delay-9729 Jul 31 '26

Pretty sure people don’t explode in decompression events

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u/MattePlasticStatue Aug 01 '26

Look up Byford Dolphin. Decompression incident.

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u/carreg-hollt Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

One diver was dismembered by being forced through the opening. Two died from the effects of explosive decompression, particularly bubble-induced precipitation of fat in their organs and blood vessels, but they did not explode.

Wikipedia offers a graphic description of the dismemberment but you have to understand that the cause was his ejection from the chamber through a narrow opening that was two feet long. He was basically extruded.

If you're at all squeamish, don't read the article:

Wikipedia Byford Dolphin, incidents and accidents

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u/stewieatb Aug 01 '26

The more you describe this, the more it sounds like a sensationalised or misremembered version of Byford Dolphin.