I think he flushed them out an airlock, I've mentioned before, he's got shifty eyes.Seeing you being that close to the star, there, I would guess they jumped into the escape pods out of fear of being cooked alive in their quarters - only to be cooked alive in a tin can.
We know that the Dolphin can almost fly into a star without critiaclly overheating, but I doubt our passengers know that as well...