Todd Meadows’ bunkmate and friend Trey John Green III is sharing new details about what led to the Deadliest Catch star’s tragic death.

“It was just a normal day,” Green exclusively shared with Us Weekly. “We were hauling pots. We’re bringing pots up onto the boat and then we’re stacking them. The pot comes up, we dump the crab out onto the table, then the pot goes back down flat onto the launcher, and then that’s when Todd entered the pot.”

According to Green, Meadows was onboard the Aleutian Lady fishing vessel inside a crab pot and “wasn’t doing anything wrong.”

At one point, the pots (which are massive steel cages weighing up to 900 pounds with bait) began to move in a way they weren’t supposed to. What came next, according to Green, was a “freak accident and it should have never happened.”

“I really don’t know how it happened. It should never happen, that pot was never supposed to move. And if it was supposed to move, it should have been stacked. It should have moved from the launcher to where it was supposed to go on deck,” he claimed. “You know, even more so… the door to the pot was still open. The pot wasn’t ready to… it wasn’t like an accident, like, oh well, maybe we were setting the pot, nothing like that. It was a freak accident, and it should have never happened. But while Todd was inside the pot he was set overboard inside the pot.”

“He was set over in the pot, set over the rail, went into the water,” he added. “It was the worst feeling. The initial shock was, like, holy s**t. How are we going to get this pot back up?”

Green revealed that in the seconds before he went overboard, Meadows tried to save himself.

“The last memory I have with Todd on the boat is he actually, he had, like, a second or two as the pot is going over. Todd was turned around in the pot, trying to make his way out.”

Within seconds, they launched a rescue operation with Green running to the stern of the boat to try to locate his friend in the water.

“I’ll never forget. Todd has, like, these big, beautiful blue eyes, and I’m on top of the pots and I spot him. …  I can see his blue eyes. He’s probably 100 yards away. He’s swimming,” Green claimed. “We’re trained to point at where he’s at, and you don’t take your finger off of him, you know. So the captain can see where to turn and to turn the boat around to get next to him. And so I’m up on top of the pots. I’m holding on, he’s out. He made it out which is like a blessing in itself. We thought he was gone, and then I spot him.”

Rescuers sprang into action to try and provide aid to Meadows.

“We’re throwing life rings into the water. Todd reaches out. He’s trying to grab onto the life ring, but he couldn’t quite get the life ring. And so now there’s two guys in the water, and there’s another piece of equipment,” Green said, referring to the life sling that is hooked up to a crane.

“So now the crane is swung overboard, and it’s hanging over Todd with this sling on him. So [the rescue diver] is in the water trying to get Todd onto the life sling. And it’s slippery. They got tons of gear on [including] boots that are full of water. You know, it’s not an easy task to get anybody onto that sling,” Green continued.

“Todd was helping himself get on into the sling. And so we think we got Todd in the sling, and then we come up on the crane to try to get him up. He gets up about halfway, and Todd flips off the sling and falls back into the water,” he said. “And this is kind of when you know things started to kind of take a dark turn. The second time he tried to get Todd into the sling he was lifeless. Eventually he did get him back on the sling the second time.”

When the crew got to Meadows after he was in the water for somewhere between three and five minutes, they immediately performed CPR, according to Green.

“When he came over the boat, back onto the boat, I mean, he was blue already,” Green recalled. “He just never came back.”

Captain Rick Shelford announced via Facebook on Sunday, March 1, that Meadows had died on February 25 at the age of 25. A rep for the Coast Guard confirmed to Us that attempts to revive Meadows were “unsuccessful.”

Related: ‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Todd Meadows’ Bunkmate Mourns His Death at 25

Deadliest Catch star Todd Meadows is being remembered by family, friends and colleagues as a skilled fisherman and devoted father in the wake of his untimely death. “Some men get called to the water. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s safe. But because it’s who they are. Todd Meadows was one of those men,” […]

The Coast Guard said it is “still investigating the situation and following up with any corrective actions and trying to understand the cause of the accident.”

When looking back on the tragic day, Green said the weather was “as good as you could possibly imagine.”

In fact, Green was able to cook breakfast for his friend earlier in the day, which allowed Meadows to enjoy the ocean view.

“It’s a nice part of the story that Todd’s last day with us, he didn’t spend time in the galley cooking and dealing with all that,” he shared with Us. “He actually got to be out on deck for as long as you possibly could.”

“When somebody’s cooking, you’re down a guy on deck. So now, instead of five guys out there you only have four,” Green continued. “You just had the jitters a little bit about going out there. And that’s awesome, you know, because I felt the same way when Todd was inside cooking. It’s like, ‘Oh, we’re down a guy and it’s kind of hectic out there.’ And it’s just when one guy’s inside, you can feel it. You really have to pick up the pace and focus even more.”

Green said he has spoken to multiple family members about the events that took place on February 25. He also confirmed that cameras were rolling for upcoming episodes of Deadliest Catch season 22, which airs on the Discovery Channel.

“The whole thing was recorded from multiple angles, from beginning to end,” Green claimed. “They filmed the whole thing.”

After Meadows’ death was confirmed, the Discovery Channel said in a statement, “We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows. This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Todd’s mother, Angela Meadows, told TMZ on March 4 that the family doesn’t want to see any footage from the accident and “do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death. We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat.”

The Discovery Channel has not publicly revealed its plans for upcoming episodes.

While Green is unsure what the show will showcase, he appears focused on getting back to work and keeping Todd’s memory alive.

In the days after his death, the crew of the Aleutian Lady hiked to the top of the mountain at Dutch Harbor to honor their friend.

Related: ‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Todd Meadows’ Bunkmate Recalls Night of His Death

Deadliest Catch star Trey John Green III was bunkmates with Todd Meadows before his untimely death at sea. “Todd was an amazing human,” Green exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 3, after news broke that Meadow died while crabbing off the Alaskan coast on Wednesday, February 25. The late fisherman was 25. Green recalled […]

“We went to the top of the mountain, took a shot of whiskey and told stories about Todd and just our memories of him,” Green said, adding the crew is returning to Alaska tomorrow to go back out to sea on the Aleutian Lady. “[Todd] almost would have done this for free, and that’s something you don’t see all the time. For him, going to Dutch Harbor and being on these crab boats was like him making it to the big leagues of fishing, and he loved it.”

A GoFundMe has been created to support the Meadows family as they grieve the loss of the talented deckhand.

“Todd had three little boys,” Green said. “I just hope that his family gets everything that they deserve out of this and at the end of the day, it is a tragedy. There are three very small children that now don’t have their father.  I’m sure that’s going to send ripple effects through his whole entire family. I just really hope that those kids are taken care of and they get all the love and care that they need for the rest of their lives.”