Kris Kelly’s team is facing disaster as the Bering Sea Gold star continues on his hunt for gold despite freezing temperatures and equipment being pushed to its brink. In a tension-filled PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Friday’s all-new episode of the Discovery show, Chris “Turtle” Thornton mans the air and hot water being pumped down to the team’s diver, but things quickly go wrong when the overwhelming cold begins to wreak havoc on the endeavor.
Kelly notes that things have been “pretty crazy” with the temperatures dropping to dangerous levels, but pushes on with caution. “It’s so cold out the dive hole is already beginning to freeze over,” he tells the camera. “And none of these machines are built for this kind of temperature. It’s a s— show.” When the diver gets down to 14 ft., he radios up to the control room that things are “starting to get cold,” questioning if the hot water being pumped down to keep him from getting hypothermia is malfunctioning. While Thornton assures everyone the equipment is still working, the diver begins to panic as his mask freezes and his air begins to run out, with the clip ending just as everyone rushes to pull him up before disaster hits.
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At the start of this season of Bering Sea Gold, Captain Emily Reidel told PopCulture that “brutal” weather had made this winter unlike any she had seen before. “The longer you’re here, the longer you realize how important every decision is,” she explained of the pressure on her as a captain. “I think things at times were tense, because ultimately everyone was there to make money. …When all your hard work isn’t manifested into gold, it can start to break you down mentally.”
As for the weather, Reidel warned of just how things can change on a dime, putting the whole crew at risk in a second. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said of her experience at sea. “The Bering Sea is kind of unique in that, when weather happens, it escalates really quickly. …It’s always these really difficult decisions [as a captain]. When you’re right, you’re right. But when you’re wrong, you lose a lot of money.” Bering Sea Gold airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery. For more from PopCulture on all the Discovery Channel’s latest shows, click here.
