The Saga comes moments from a catastrophic explosion on this week’s Deadliest Catch — after a burnt-out clutch leaves the crew inhaling clouds of toxic smoke.
Disaster strikes 185 miles from land as the engine room starts billowing smoke. The crew have to go down below to find out what the problem is but are left retching after breathing in the toxic fumes.
Footage from the show also shows deckhand Hannes Huswick actually being sick as he emerges coughing violently on deck.
Luckily the crew manage to catch the clutch just in time — before the combination of heat and oil caused a potential blast which they would likely not have survived.
Captain Jake Anderson said: “My heart just dropped. Fire is the most dangerous thing that can happen on a boat, not flooding. We caught it just in time.
“If the guys hadn’t caught it, it would have eventually got to the hydraulic oil and erupted in an explosion…and we would all have been dead.”
Also on this week’s Deadliest Catch, Captain “Wild” Bill Wichrowski fears he could lose crew member Nick McGlashan to a terminal illness after he falls ill aboard the Summer Bay…20
Deadliest Catch airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Discovery.