Piper Alpha: Oil Rig Disaster | Explosions | 3

Against The Odds

Wondery

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

4.7 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As the fire continues to rage on Piper Alpha, rescuers in small motorboats race to get workers off the burning oil rig. Diver Ed Punchard has his men climb down a rope to safety, while electrician Bob Ballantyne tries to lead his friends down a series of smoke-filled stairways. Then, when another huge explosion rocks the rig, some men are forced to leap into the ocean, or risk being burned to death.

Listen to Against The Odds on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/against-the-odds/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Wunderry Plus subscribers can listen to Against the Odds early in ad free right now.
0:05.0	Join Wunderry Plus in the Wunderry App or on Apple Podcasts.
0:09.0	A listener note, Against the Odds uses dramatizations that are based on true events.
0:15.5	Some elements, including dialogue, may be invented, but everything is based on research. Cox and James McNeil guns the motor of a z-boat slicing.
0:28.6	Cox and James McNeil guns the motor of a z-boat,
0:32.1	slicing through the choppy sea. The night sky is tinted orange
0:36.6	from the fire burning on the Piper Alpha oil ring which towers above him. He glances up, the flames must be 20 feet high now.
0:47.0	His eyes scanned down the rig's various platforms all the way to the water,
0:51.3	searching for anyone who might be in need of rescue.
0:55.6	But there's no one in sight.
0:58.2	He turns the wheel to make another pass and calls out to the other three men aboard the Z-boat.
1:04.0	Keep looking.
1:04.9	It's bound to be someone.
1:06.7	It's 10.13 PM on July 6, 1988, 110 miles off the coast of Scotland.
1:15.0	13 minutes ago, an explosion rocked the rig
1:18.7	and sparked a massive fire.
1:21.1	Within minutes, McNeil and his crew took off in the Z-boat from their base, the silver pit rescue ship.
1:27.0	McNeil is proud of how quickly his team responded.
1:31.0	They're the first rescue crew out on the water. In an
1:34.8	emergency like this workers are supposed to evacuate via helicopter.
1:39.0	Still McNeil felt certain there'd be at least a few men stuck on the lower levels who could jump
1:44.8	aboard his e-boat. But as McNeil scans the rig again, he sees no one. he feels useless.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.