Sunday, November 25, 2007

The devil's lighter


Man, when I used to be a geologist and would go to offshore rigs this was my biggest concern, there's no place to run to.


Especially when the only place to go is into an ocean that will kill you dead of hypothermia in a matter of minutes if you're unprotected.


Bless them all and protect them.


Oil platform on fire in North Sea

Norwegian and British helicopters race to rescue 159 workers

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Norwegian and British helicopters raced to rescue 159 workers from a British oil platform that caught fire in the North Sea Sunday, a British Defense Ministry official said.


Norwegian helicopters had removed at least 44 people from the burning platform, the official said.


"They've made a good start and it's now just a question of as many guys you can get of in one go," Royal Air Force spokesman Michael Mulford said in an ITN interview.
Seven helicopters were involved in the rescue effort, including aircraft from the British Coast Guard and the Royal Air Force, Mulford said.

"We are very lucky that we have three neighboring platforms within five or six miles and in that sort of distance we will be able to land and refuel," he said.


The platform is in the United Kingdom section of the North Sea, about 120 miles northeast of the Scottish coast, according to a map.