25 years ago today, the Piper Alpha oil platform exploded in the North Sea; 167 died

wfgodot

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Piper Alpha survivors remember disaster, 25 years on
Even 25 years on, Charles Haffey's most powerful memory of the Piper Alpha disaster was the overwhelming, deafening noise. The vast inferno created by simultaneous eruptions from ruptured gas and crude oil pipelines sounded like thousands of blow torches alight at full pressure.

That intense, inescapable roar was accompanied by other sounds, as the extraordinary heat melted steel, fracturing Piper Alpha's vast structure, as glass windows exploded and as its offices, canteens and sleeping quarters disintegrated.

There were three then four vast explosions, each seeming more devastating than the last, spread out over several hours.
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much more at Guardian link above

Piper Alpha (Wiki)
 
It's been that long ago? I remember that like yesterday.

It will be 21 years ago that I lost a member of my family due to an oil well explosion. He's was blown right off of the derricks, thanks to a computer failure not shutting down the well.
 
Daily Mail, other stories:

'I thought I pushed him over the edge, I thought I killed him': Survivor of Piper Alpha oil rig disaster relives the fear and panic 25 years later
For 25 years, Roy Thomson thought he had accidentally killed a fellow oil-rigger on Piper Alpha when he ran through thick black smoke and leapt from the blazing rig.

Unable to see, and his boots melting, Mr Thomson charged into another man at the edge of the rig's platform, shoving him over the side. Together they tumbled and plummeted 120ft into the North Sea.

While he doesn't remember hitting the water, he recalls the fall felt like a long time; he then remembers the struggle and 'panic' to get back to the surface.
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more at the link
 
I remember this story - the article is beautifully written.
 

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