Oil Platform Catches Fire North of UK
Pastor Dale Morgan
Oil Platform Catches Fire North of UK*
By THOMAS WAGNER
The Associated Press
Sunday, November 25, 2007; 8:48 AM
LONDON -- Dozens of workers were airlifted to safety in high winds after
their North Sea oil platform caught fire Sunday, officials said.
Some 116 of the 159 people aboard the remote Thistle Alpha platform, 120
miles northwest of Britain's Shetland Islands, were taken off the
platform by seven rescue helicopters, said the Health and Safety Executive.
Battling strong northwesterly winds, the helicopters _ some from Britain
and some from Norway _ took the rescued workers to three nearby oil
platforms, said Royal Air Force spokesman Michael Mulford.
"This is just about as remote as it gets," he said.
Mulford said the cause of the fire, which began at 8:30 a.m., was not
immediately known.
"Firefighters on the platform are attempting to put out the fire. There
are no injuries, and they are going to put people back on," the Health
and Safety Executive said several hours after the fire began.
The Thistle Alpha platform is operated by the Swedish company Lundin
Petroleum AB, which is listed on the Nordic stock exchange. The company
issued no immediate comment.