An unexpected winter storm with 100 mph winds and 60 foot swells sent a wave washing into an unclosed porthole 30 feet above the water line and into the ballast control room short circuiting the ballast control equipment and causing the rig to list and finally sink. Due to being thought unsinkable safety drills had been haphazard, so that during the evacuation attempt many did not even make it into the lifeboats, instead jumping over the side into the cold waters of the Atlantic to perish within minutes. Rescue attempts by helicopter and the supply ship Seaforth Highlander were hampered by weather and cold water conditions. Over the next week 22 bodies were recovered, most without a mark having died in the cold water for lack of survival suits.