‘Deadliest Catch’: Keith Colburn and the Wizard Rescue Titan Explorer Crew

The stakes couldn’t be higher in the next episode of Deadliest Catch. 

In the season 21 premiere of the Discovery Channel reality series, fans watched as Captain Jake Anderson was forced to abandon his ship, the F/V Titan Explorer, due to a dangerous ammonia leak. The incident put Jake and his crew’s life in serious danger. But in a clip from the August 8 episode, another Deadliest Catch captain comes to their rescue. 

Keith Colburn pulls off a risky rescue in the next episode of ‘Deadliest Catch’ 

In the Deadliest Catch season premiere, Jake faced a cascading series of problems that eventually forced him to make the difficult decision to abandon his ship in a remote part of the Bering Sea. 

First, an ammonia leak was discovered, leading Jake to turn off the engines in order to avoid a potentially deadly fire. But that move cause the ship to list dangerously. With his and his crew’s safety at risk, he made the tough call to get everyone into a life raft and abandon ship. 

Fortunately for the Titan Explorer crew, another ship was nearby and able to respond to their distress call. In a clip from the upcoming episode (via Entertainment Weekly), Keith and the Wizard race to the rescue. They begin the process of bringing in the raft, which they can only hope contains survivors. 

After a few tense moments, the life raft is close enough to the Wizard to see that there are people inside. The sense of relief is palpable, and several people erupt in cheers. 

Sig Hansen reacts to ‘Deadliest Catch’ near-disaster

In another clip shared on Instagram, Jake reflects on the incredibly close call. 

“I don’t know,” he says, through an oxygen mask. “We got in the raft and tied it off and next thing you know we’re drifting out to sea. My radio died.” 

“What a ride,” another person who was on the Titan Explorer says. “What a ride. We made it though. We’re going back home.”

While nothing tops the feelings of Jake and his crew, the other captains in the Deadliest Catch fleet are visibly relieved that everyone is safe. Keith, who is tearing up, gets on the radio to inform other ships that the rescue has been successful. Captain Sig Hansen lets out a triumphant “Yeah!”

“Thank god,” says Sig’s daughter, Captain Mandy Hansen. 

Sig elaborated on the scary incident in an interview with People. 

“When we heard that they were in the water, I mean, that changes everything,” he said. “As a fisherman, when you’re out in the middle of nowhere and you hear your friends are in the water, you go running, you do what you can to save them.” 

Deadliest Catch airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery Channel. Episodes also stream on HBO Max. 

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