Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster
by Stephen McGinty
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The fire was visible from seventy miles away and the heat generated was so intense that a helicopter could only circle the rig at a perimeter of one mile. On the surface of the sea, a converted fishing trawler inched as close as possible, but the paint on the vessels hull blistered and burnt. In the water surrounding the inferno, mens heads could be seen bobbing like apples as their yellow hard hats melted with the heat. On 6 July 1988 a series of explosions ripped through the Piper Alpha show more oil platform, 110 miles north-east of Aberdeen in the North Sea. Ablaze with 226 men on board, the searing temperatures caused the platform to collapse in just two hours. Only sixty-one would survive by leaping over 100 feet into the water below. Newly updated for the thirtieth year since the tragedy, Fire in the Night by journalist Stephen McGinty tells in gripping detail the devastating story of that summer evening. Combining interviews with survivors, witness statements and transcripts from the official inquiry into the disaster, this is the moving and vivid tale of what remains the worst offshore oil-rig disaster to date. The fire was visible 70 miles away as a distant, flickering flame on the horizon. The heat generated was so intense that a helicopter could only circle at a perimeter of one mile. At the centre stood, at least for now, the Piper Alpha oil platform, 110 miles northeast of Aberdeen, once the world's single largest oil producer. On 6 July 1988, its final day, it was ablaze with 226 men onboard. Only 61 would survive. The fire was visible seventy miles away as a distant, flickering flame on the horizon. The heat generated was so intense that a helicopter could only circle at a perimeter of one mile, the tongues of flame extending hundreds of feet above the rotor blades. On the surface a converted fishing trawler inched as close as possible, but the paint on the vessel's hull blistered and burnt, and the rope handrails began to smoke. In the water surrounding the inferno, men's heads could be seen bobbing like apples as their scalps burned with the heat." "At the centre stood, at least for now, the Piper Alpha oil platform, 110 miles northeast of Aberdeen, once the world's single largest oil producer. On 6 July 1988, its final day, it was ablaze with 226 men onboard. Only sixty-one would survive." "Fire in the Night tells, for the first time and in gripping detail, the devastating story of the world's worst offshore oil disaster. In a narrative that combines interviews with survivors, witness statements and testimony from the official inquiry into the disaster, Fire in the Night reveals the human stories of bravery and loss within the unfolding tragedy.--BOOK JACKET. History. The Piper Alpha oil platform, 110 miles northeast of Aberdeen, was once one of the world's single largest oil producer. On 6 July 1988, its final day, it was ablaze with 226 men onboard. Only sixty-one would survive. This book tells the devastating story of that summer evening. show lessTags
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Awonderful telling of a tragic accident that should never have happened, and the brave men who survived it. an excellent book!
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Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 941.0858 — History & geography History of Europe British Isles Historical periods of British Isles 1837- Period of Victoria and House of Windsor 1945-1999 1980-1989
- LCC
- TH9445 .D75 .M34 — Technology Building construction Building construction Protection of buildings
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- (4.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
