The laws of physics are, quite frankly, merciless to humanity, and we are stunningly frail when faced with the forces that can exist when we step even slightly outside of our normal operating conditions. The spirits of exploration and innovation, however, push us to use technology to explore the most dangerous places on Earth – and beyond. When a mistake is made, or that technology fails, the results can be devastating and horrifying.

The Byford Dolphin is a semi-submersible oil drilling rig that operates in the North Sea. Built in 1974, she is still in service today. In November of 1983, two divers were making a routine transfer from a highly pressurized diving bell to a decompression chamber, where two other divers were also present and relaxing. The procedure at that point was to seal off the connection from the bell to the chamber, decompress the bell, and then disconnect it from the chamber.

Things went horrifyingly wrong, however.

One of the dive tenders engaged in the disconnection process apparently made a mistake and released the clamp on the bell early, before the connection between the bell and the chamber had even been sealed. The result was explosive decompression: the chamber, pressurized to 9 atmospheres (nine times normal atmospheric pressure), released its air in a catastrophic eruption, blasting the diving bell away and into the two tenders, killing the one who had released the clamp.

Inside, things went even worse. All four men inside were killed instantly, but the one closest to the door experienced the most violent decompression and literally exploded. As described on Wikipedia,

Subsequent investigation by forensic pathologists determined [diver 4], being exposed to the highest pressure gradient, violently exploded due to the rapid and massive expansion of internal gases. All of his thoracic and abdominal organs, and even his thoracic spine were ejected, as were all of his limbs. Simultaneously, his remains were expelled through the narrow trunk opening left by the jammed chamber door, less than 60 centimetres (24 in) in diameter. Fragments of his body were found scattered about the rig. One part was even found lying on the rig's derrick, 10 metres (30 ft) directly above the chambers. The deaths of all four divers were most likely instantaneous and painless.

Autopsy also revealed that the victim’s organs were saturated with fat, which had most likely dropped out of solution when their blood boiled.

The accident was attributed to error on the part of the dive tender, although it was noted that rig workers were often on long 16 hour shifts where judgment was almost certainly impaired. Also, the chamber and bell were determined to have inadequate and obsolete failsafe mechanisms. Other divers came together after the accident, forming the North Sea Diver Alliance, and sued the Norwegian government for negligence in the accident. In 2009, the families of the victims finally received compensation.

As I have noted, the incident is a stark and tragic reminder of how frail we are with respect to the laws of physics.