Piper Alpha: Oil Rig Disaster | A Survivor Remembers | 5

Against The Odds

Wondery

Cassie De Pecol, History, Society & Culture, Dolby, Mike Corey, Dolby Atmos, Atmos

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 September 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Diver Ed Punchard loved his job and the people on Piper Alpha, even if it meant working on a noisy rig for weeks at a time, far out in the North Sea. Being part of a dive team meant everyone trained hard and relied on each other to stay alive. But nothing could have prepared Ed and his colleagues for what happened on July 6th, 1988. Today, Ed joins host Mike Corey to share his experience of the Piper Alpha disaster and its aftermath. Ed is author of Piper Alpha: A Survivor’s Story. He also made the documentary Paying For The Piper.

In this episode, we discuss suicide and depression. If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. The National Alliance on Mental Illness is available at 1-800-950-6264.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wundery Plus subscribers can listen to Against the Odds Early in Ad Free right now.
0:05.0	Join Wundery Plus in the Wundery App or on Apple Podcasts.
0:09.0	Just a note, this series contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling
0:15.2	with their mental health, we have included resources at the end of the episode and in our show
0:19.8	notes.
0:25.0	I'm Mike Corey, and this is against the odds.
0:29.0	I'm Mike Corey and this is against the odds. Oh, Imagine what it would be like to work on an oil rig about 110 miles off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland.
1:08.0	You're a dive controller and your job is to guide people underwater as they repair the world's most productive offshore oil rig, Piper
1:15.6	Alpha.
1:16.6	It's not easy work, but the pay is good.
1:19.8	On July 6, 1988, you hear an explosion.
1:24.3	The scene is smoky and chaotic, and it's hard to know what's happening.
1:28.9	You and the other divers have to escape what is becoming a raging inferno.
1:33.2	Eventually, you manage to make it onto a rescue boat, but by the time the disaster is
1:38.8	over, 167 men would lose their lives.
1:43.9	My guest today is documentary filmmaker and survivor Ed Punchard.
1:48.0	He's the author of Piper Alpha, a Survivor's Story, and he also made the documentary paying for the Piper.
1:54.4	Ed Panchard, welcome to against the odds.
1:57.8	Well, it's a pleasure to be here.
1:59.8	When the explosion happened on July 6th in 1988,
2:04.4	Ed, you were 31 years old,
2:06.2	and I'd love if you could just go over your initial reaction
	...

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