On March 15, 1931, the production was on the sealing ship S.S. Viking, shooting additional footage, when it got stuck in ice off the northern Newfoundland coast. The ship had dynamite onboard, and the crew used it in an attempt to break up the ice. The explosion destroyed the ship, killing 27 people, including director Varick Frissell, cinematographer Alexander G. Penrod, and almost all of the film crew. As of 2024, it holds the record for the most fatalities during a film production.