Deepwater Horizon movie ending explained: Who survived the explosion?

The 2016 American disaster film Deepwater Horizon sticks to the true story of the 2010 disaster when an oil-drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and was engulfed in flames, causing "one of the biggest oil spills in American history."

It is inspired by the ill-fated crew members of the rig, both those who survived and perished from the fatal explosion, and stars Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, and Dylan O'Brien. The film was brought to the screen by Long Survivor director Peter Berg.

The grim movie dramatizes the true story of the industrial disaster and how the workers fight to escape the flaming rig with their lives. Deepwater Horizon ends with a sequence showing survivors like Mike Williams, Andrea Fleytas, and other crew members reuniting with their families before showing an archival montage revealing that 11 men lost their lives in the tragedy.

Disclaimer: This post contains spoilers for Deep Horizon. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Who survived the Deepwater Horizon explosion?

There were reportedly 126 crew members on board the drilling rig, but 11 of them lost their lives, smothered by the explosion and the subsequent fire that broke out. In the film, most of the lead characters make it out alive. Most of them have experienced varying levels of injury but were rescued and brought to safety.

Caleb Holloway (played by Maze Runner star Dylan O'Brien), a technician in the rig, is among one of the survivors shown reuniting with his family at the end of the movie. During the explosion, he was helping Mike Williams (played by Mark Wahlberg) usher other crew members out of the rig and onto a lifeboat.

James "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell (played by Kurt Russell), an offshore installation manager in the rig, was taking a shower when the powerful explosion happened, leaving him injured. Fortunately for him, Williams found and carried him upwards to safety. The lifeboat was full when they arrived but luckily, the Coast Guard shortly arrived on the scene and rescued the remaining crew members.

Another survivor is the dynamic position operator Andrea Fleytas (played by Gina Rodriguez). She and Williams were two of the last workers to leave the rig that was quickly catching on fire. They had a dramatic exit from the rig—Williams pushing Fleytas into the water from around 10 stories high as she was scared to jump. Williams shortly followed and jumped to escape the raging fire.

Other survivors from the explosion include the BP managers Robert Kaluza (played by Brad Leland) and Donald Vidrone (played by John Malkovich), who would later face trial.

After the crew survived, they were given medical treatment and later reunited with their families in a hotel lobby. Williams, however, was accosted by family members of some of the crew who weren't able to return safely to land, resulting in him having a panic attack.

Unfortunately, Aaron Dale Burkeen, a crane operator, died on the rig after bravely sacrificing himself to stop a burning crane from falling on the rest of the workers.

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Why wasn't the alarm activated immediately during the explosion in the rig?

Gina Rodriguez was Andrea Fleytas in Deepwater Horizon (Image via Rich Polk/Getty Images)

Andrea Fleytas, one of the bridge officers on the drilling rig was depicted as one of the "heroes" in the American disaster film. In Deepwater Horizon, she was seen trying to sound the alarm to warn the crew of the disaster.

She tried to send out a mayday call to alert the Coast Guard of what was happening but was reprimanded for her actions by Captain Curt Kuchta (played by Dave Maldonado) because she didn't have the authority to do so.

She was overruled by Kuchta saying that the rig was not in imminent danger, but then Kuchta sent his own call to the Coast Guard later on as the situation in the drilling rig turned for the worse.

However, Fleytas' heroic act was one of the creative liberties Deepwater Horizon has taken, which is not exactly what happened in real life. In reality, Fleytas had the authority to activate the emergency alarms to notify all rig workers of the impending disaster.

However, she admittedly froze and wasn't able to sound the alarms immediately after getting shocked at seeing all ten magenta lights lit up, indicating the severity of the situation they were facing.

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What happened to the survivors after the Deepwater Horizon blowup?

A clip from Deepwater Horizon (Image via Lionsgate)

The ending montage of Deepwater Horizon shared photos of some of the real-life survivors of the explosion and updates on their whereabouts. One of the survivors and the film's lead, Mike Williams, is shown to now live with his family in Texas and has never returned to the sea.

Meanwhile, Andrea Fleytas now lives in California and has stopped working for the oil industry. James "Mr. Jimmy" Harrell, on the other hand, has kept working for the offshore drilling company long after the explosion but he has since succumbed to his year-long cancer battle in 2021.

The ending montage also revealed that the BP supervisors Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza were indicted for 11 counts of manslaughter after the explosion. However, their charges were dismissed in 2015.

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Deepwater Horizon's ending pays homage to the rig's ill-fated crew

Caleb Holloway and Mike Williams in Deepwater Horizon (Image via Lionsgate)

In addition to the video montage of some of those who survived the fatal explosion at the end of Deepwater Horizon, the film also ended with a series of clips showing the aftermath of the disaster, including the crew members who weren't able to make it out alive.

Photos appear of the 11 rig workers who lost their lives during the explosion, paying tribute to them. The 11 fallen crew members include:

• Aaron Dale Burkeem
• Dewey Revette
• Karl Kleppinger Jr.
• Donald Clark
• Stephen Ray Curtis
• Gordon Jones
• Keith Blair Manuel
• Roy Wyatt Kemp
• Shane Roshto
• Jason Anderson
• Adam Weise

Deepwater Horizon's postscript reads:

"The blowout lasted for 87 days, spilling an estimated 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It was the worst oil disaster in US history."

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Deepwater Horizon is currently streaming on Max.