 | This article is written like a story. (December 2019) |
| Date | 26 November 1978 |
|---|---|
| Location | Beside Beryl Alpha platform, Beryl oil field, East Shetland Basin, North Sea, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 59°33′N 1°32′E / 59.550°N 1.533°E |
| Cause | Diving bell lift wire and umbilical severed |
| Participants | Ed Hammond, Robert Kelly, Lothar Michael Ward, Gerard Anthony "Tony" Prangley |
| Outcome | Deaths of Ward and Prangley |
The Star Canopus diving accident was an incident in Scotland in November 1978 that killed two British commercial divers. During a routine dive beside the Beryl Alpha platform in the North Sea, the diving bell of the diving support vessel MS Star Canopus was lost when its main lift wire, life support umbilical, and guide wires were severed by an anchor chain of the semi-submersible Haakon Magnus. The bell dropped to the seabed at a depth of over 100 metres (330 ft). Its two occupants, 25-year-old Lothar Michael Ward and 28-year-old Gerard Anthony "Tony" Prangley, were unable to release the bell's drop weight in order to return to the surface because it was secured to the bell frame with secondary locking pins. Since there was not a bell stage to keep the bottom door of the bell off the seabed, the divers could not exit the bell to release the pins. Despite the efforts of three rescue vessels – Intersub 4, Tender Carrier, and Uncle John – the bell was not recovered for over thirteen hours, by which time Ward and Prangley had died of hypothermia and drowning.[1][2][3][4]
- ^ Limbrick, Jim (2001). North Sea Divers – a Requiem. Hertford: Authors OnLine. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-7552-0036-5.
- ^ Smart, Michael (2011). Into the Lion's Mouth: The Story of the Wildrake Diving Accident. Medford, Oregon: Lion's Mouth Publishing. pp. 105, 309, 348–355. ISBN 978-0-615-52838-0. LCCN 2011915008.
- ^ "Two die in plunge to sea bed". The Press and Journal (Scotland). 27 November 1978.
- ^ "Trapped divers die as rescue attempt failed". The Scotsman. 27 November 1978.