0:00:04 > 0:00:11This programme contains some strong language.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42ALARM BEEPS
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Every now and again when I'm driving over that way, I'll pop in.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28Loads of people go there when the roses are out.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31It's a beautiful place when all the roses are out.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39I just walk around outside, try to put faces to them,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43I know some of the names there...
0:01:43 > 0:01:45and just see what they look like.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Piper will never go away.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54It'll be here forever.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10My granddaughter, she did an article at school on the Piper Alpha.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13She said, "Can you tell us a little bit about it?"
0:02:13 > 0:02:15I said, "There's not much to tell."
0:02:17 > 0:02:19"Did you jump from the rig?"
0:02:20 > 0:02:22I said, "Oh, yeah."
0:02:22 > 0:02:25"Was it high?"
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I said, "Oh, it was high."
0:02:28 > 0:02:31"How high?" I said, "It was high."
0:02:53 > 0:02:56When the black water comes from the depths of the northern ocean,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59then will be the beginning of our tribulations.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19For as long as man has lived on the borders of the North Sea,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22he has intermingled his respect for it with fear and hatred.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Is it too fanciful to imagine that the small sea towns
0:03:29 > 0:03:31which border this coast cower from the sea,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33perhaps as if in race memory
0:03:33 > 0:03:37of the invaders who came across these narrow seas, the Vikings?
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Or is it perhaps an awareness
0:03:40 > 0:03:44that the North Sea gives up its treasure unwillingly,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47that the men who have fished it for generations know that, for them,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50the North Sea is a widow maker?
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Nothing remotely like them had ever been built before.
0:04:21 > 0:04:25From the seabed to the top of the drilling derrick would be 690ft.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28The steel had to be protected inside and out
0:04:28 > 0:04:32by a combination of plastic coatings and electrolysis.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Not something you can do in any old totter's yard.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43This is one of the most exciting things
0:04:43 > 0:04:46that's happened to Europe for centuries.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00And somehow these cumbersome steel contraptions had to be set afloat
0:05:00 > 0:05:02and towed 110 miles offshore,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05had to be set upright and pinned on the ocean bed.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10On launching day, nobody could guess what might happen next.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14It was as much religion as engineering.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59The structures were designed to withstand waves of 94ft
0:05:59 > 0:06:01and winds of 130mph.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04In the splash areas, the impact of a wave
0:06:04 > 0:06:06could be several thousand tons,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09striking both sideways and downwards at the same time.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Floating cranes had to be designed to lift into position
0:06:14 > 0:06:16units that were heavier and more cumbersome
0:06:16 > 0:06:19than anything that had ever been lifted before at sea.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Nobody knew all the answers.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24Nobody could hope to think of everything.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26You could only do your sums and say your prayers.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32It wasn't expected that they'd ever turn out quite like this -
0:06:32 > 0:06:36machinery has bred machinery, platforms have grown up and out
0:06:36 > 0:06:37like junkyards on stilts.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Piper, one of the largest fields in the North Sea,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54holds the current world production record for a single platform -
0:06:54 > 0:06:57at the moment, more than a quarter of UK production.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17A vision of hell, I thought it was. The first time, I thought,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20"God, how could anybody work on one of these things?"
0:07:21 > 0:07:25Your ship seemed to be quite comfortable in comparison.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29When you see these guys, these ants walking around in their hard hats
0:07:29 > 0:07:33and their overalls, I had nothing but admiration for them.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35If that rig decides to get upset with you,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38there's only going to be one winner.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42Ten stone of man, 2,000 tonnes of rig, he's going to win all the time.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45CLANKING
0:07:47 > 0:07:49SHOUTING
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Everything was hunky-dory then.
0:08:16 > 0:08:18It was good.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22There were some cracking times...
0:08:22 > 0:08:24before that night.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33It was work.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I didn't go to work there thinking we were particularly unsafe.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42It was a different environment,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44but it was an environment you soon got used to,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47because a lot of it was just similar to working on shore,
0:08:47 > 0:08:50except obviously, the getting there and the getting home.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01It was 112 miles, so about an hour, 50 minutes to an hour,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03depending on the weather conditions.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06You just sat there and either fell asleep or read a book
0:09:06 > 0:09:08until you got out to the platform.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20It was all a new experience then.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22I have seen people fly out,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24step off...
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and say, "I'm not... No, I can't do this."
0:09:27 > 0:09:29I've seen that happen, yeah.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36I always thought, if there was ever going to be an accident,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38it would be the transfer there and back in a helicopter.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Because you do think about it - if anything ever happened.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44You think once you get on the platform,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46you're safe for a fortnight.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Obviously, I got that wrong as well,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50so my judgement's not brilliant, is it?
0:10:00 > 0:10:03LAUGHTER
0:10:03 > 0:10:04What a life it is in the North Sea.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Here we are, far from home.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19It was sort of, we're not meant to be there.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23You're stuck in the middle of nowhere,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25but you're seeing other rigs around you
0:10:25 > 0:10:29where people are in exactly the same situation.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36There's no way you would exist if you didn't get on.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39It was as simple as that. So you did.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41You got on and you had a good laugh.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46You made a laugh of it because if you didn't make a laugh,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48you'd probably cry.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51OK. One steak monkey gland.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56- Well-done sirloin. - This isn't well-done sirloin.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Pat. Well done. Well done, Pat.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06The Piper was the main key way for the oil
0:11:06 > 0:11:11because the oil pipeline going back on shore came via the Piper.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13We took the oil from the Tartan,
0:11:13 > 0:11:16we took the oil from the Claymore,
0:11:16 > 0:11:17two more rigs,
0:11:17 > 0:11:21and we piped it then into the mainlines going ashore
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and that's what's caused a lot of the problems.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Quite a few people didn't like the Piper, particularly.
0:11:31 > 0:11:32But it was the first platform
0:11:32 > 0:11:35I'd ever been and I thought it was quite good. The food was good,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38the accommodation was good, the work area was good
0:11:38 > 0:11:40and I thought it was quite...
0:11:40 > 0:11:42to me, quite safe.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49The Piper had just one stand-by boat, the Silver Pit.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Everyone was trained in firefighting within the platform itself.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56Every week you did your lifeboat drills,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58where you went to your lifeboats
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and also on board you had your hoses and equipment
0:12:01 > 0:12:03for survival in that respect, and firefighting.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07There was also the Tharos,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10which was the accommodation rig next to the Piper.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12It was there as a firefighting barge as well,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15it had water cannons on board there.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19The Tharos, wallowing only slightly in a force-nine gale,
0:12:19 > 0:12:23has all the grace and clean-cut lines of a floating building site.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27This 30,000-ton barge has not been built for beauty,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29but for situations like this,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32a blow-out, the oilman's nightmare,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34and it could happen in the North Sea any time.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39The water cannons on the Tharos can envelop a burning rig.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43It won't put the fire out but it will stop the rig melting.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46Below decks, there's a hospital and intensive care unit
0:12:46 > 0:12:47that can cope with 90 men
0:12:47 > 0:12:51suffering from the burns, hypothermia and broken limbs
0:12:51 > 0:12:53that would follow a disaster offshore.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Aboard the platform, they don't talk about safety much.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07They don't talk about disasters at all.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10They all know it only needs one careless or foolish man
0:13:10 > 0:13:13for a North Sea platform to become a flaming torch.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22There was a saying on the platform that in the priorities,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25safety came first, production second.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27But we always said safety only came first
0:13:27 > 0:13:29if it didn't interfere with production.
0:13:33 > 0:13:39You just felt that they were looking to cut costs all the time.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42When you see now how much money is involved in oil,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44there was probably no need for it.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Keep it flowing, keep it flowing. Pump it out.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52It was a time bomb waiting to happen.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54It was a time bomb...
0:13:54 > 0:13:56and it happened.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55It was an exceptionally busy time on that day.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01There was a lot of maintenance going on on the rig.
0:15:02 > 0:15:04We had the gas modules shot down
0:15:04 > 0:15:08and we had to get this gas module back up and running
0:15:08 > 0:15:10as quickly as possible.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14We knew we had a few days to do it in,
0:15:14 > 0:15:18or we thought we did. Put it that way.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29This was the first time that they had tried to do a shutdown,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33keeping part of the platform still pumping oil.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37It was a live experiment they were doing.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39At the end of the day, obviously, it didn't work.
0:15:48 > 0:15:54The sea wasn't rough, it was a pleasant day.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56The work went all right.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01We didn't have any blockages in the blast machine, as I remember.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Yeah.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09And nobody mixing paint with their hands.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13The guys knew they were going to be going across to Tharos
0:16:13 > 0:16:14to sleep that night.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18One of the lads came to me, he'd just been married six weeks,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and he wanted overtime. I couldn't think of anything to give him
0:16:21 > 0:16:25and then I thought, "Oh, the compressor needed filling, diesel,"
0:16:25 > 0:16:28I said, "You can do that, fill the compressor
0:16:28 > 0:16:30"and I'll see if you can stay on here tonight."
0:16:30 > 0:16:33Stayed on to go back to Tharos.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37The contract lads were knocking off from the gas module
0:16:37 > 0:16:41and they came down to the instrument shop
0:16:41 > 0:16:45and I was writing out the log to hand over,
0:16:45 > 0:16:47because the next day I was going off
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and I said to them, "OK, lads, you can knock off,"
0:16:50 > 0:16:53and I sent them back up,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57not realising that I would never see them again.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Another ten minutes and it could have made the world of difference,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03they might have survived.
0:17:03 > 0:17:06But you don't know that at the time, you don't realise that,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09you think you're doing them a favour, a good turn.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14But, it wasn't, as it turned out.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52RADIO STATIC
0:19:37 > 0:19:42'It's 25 years ago and I can remember it as if it was yesterday.'
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Well, we had a problem, which was very much a routine problem
0:19:48 > 0:19:50we've seen a lot of times before,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54what we call the condensate injection pump shut down.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57We called condensate what the layperson would call LPG,
0:19:57 > 0:19:59the stuff you buy in the blue bottles
0:19:59 > 0:20:01for your barbecue or your fire.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04So, we needed to get it going quickly again,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06there wasn't a panic about that, because the condensate pumps,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08from an equipment point of view,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10tripped more than any other piece of equipment.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14It was just, "Oops, the condensate pump's tripped."
0:20:14 > 0:20:16Accepted the alarm
0:20:16 > 0:20:20and then pop the gas alarms in, and it just all came in together.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23ALARMS AND KLAXONS WAIL
0:20:31 > 0:20:33All the alarms are coming in
0:20:33 > 0:20:35and every time I'm trying to stop one,
0:20:35 > 0:20:38there's another one coming in, so I couldn't stop the klaxon coming in.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40And the explosion came.
0:20:40 > 0:20:46Next second, I'm 15 foot away, up the other end of the control.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51It wasn't just a big bang, it was more of a karrump.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54And you felt it, right through the rig.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59I mean, the instrument container was...
0:20:59 > 0:21:02shaking like you knew it was something big.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05RADIO STATIC
0:21:28 > 0:21:31I can see myself in the control room now.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33I can see the smoke and the destruction
0:21:33 > 0:21:35at that end of the control room.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38My hearing was OK, because I could hear some of the alarms going,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41my hip was hurting, I struggled to walk a bit.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45The logical thing to do was then to get out of the smoke,
0:21:45 > 0:21:47which is what I did.
0:21:48 > 0:21:50We got outside and we were concerned
0:21:50 > 0:21:53because the platform alert hadn't gone off,
0:21:53 > 0:21:55which the fire panel used to...
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Part of the logic used to put the alert off,
0:21:58 > 0:21:59and that hadn't gone out.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03And the other thing we were concerned about, we didn't have any firewater.
0:22:03 > 0:22:09At this point, Bobby V, and Robbie Cal, both put breathing apparatus on
0:22:09 > 0:22:13to go into the smoke to try and start the fire pump,
0:22:13 > 0:22:15which was the control room operator's job,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17but because of my hip injury and this
0:22:17 > 0:22:19I was struggling to move about,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23- never mind put my air set on. - And what happened to them?
0:22:23 > 0:22:27They were both killed. Both of them.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56I started making my way to my lifeboat.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00And I met two lads from the control room with gas masks on
0:23:00 > 0:23:04and they said to me, "No-go, Roy.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08"The pumps have been blasted to pieces on the initial explosion.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10"They've been taken out."
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And he said, "The lifeboats have been smashed as well."
0:23:15 > 0:23:20I went on down to the 68-foot level.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24As I'm walking along, you're looking at a sprinkler system
0:23:24 > 0:23:28and all you're seeing is drops of water.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32So, the valve for the water had obviously opened,
0:23:32 > 0:23:34but there was no pressure,
0:23:34 > 0:23:40there was just the residual water dripping down, from the sprinklers.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44So, I knew then we were in serious trouble.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26The only way was down.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28One of the riggers found a big rope
0:24:28 > 0:24:30and he tied it to the handrail
0:24:30 > 0:24:32and threw it over the side.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35So, I managed to get hold of a lifejacket
0:24:35 > 0:24:37and I went down the rope with other people.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39I managed to get inside,
0:24:39 > 0:24:44into the Zodiac rescue craft off the Silver Pit.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56The Silver Pit was this little boat,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59now and then you'd see it doing this in the sea
0:24:59 > 0:25:02and we used to say, "Whatever happens on here,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04"you'd never get me on there."
0:25:04 > 0:25:07And I was really pleased to get on there.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24It was our job to man what we called the fast rescue craft.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29When we launched for the first time,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31the fire was still very localised.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34What happened after was, one of the guys came down the spider deck,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38the spider deck was the lowest deck on the oil rig.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Now, at that time, we just thought the guy was going to say,
0:25:41 > 0:25:44"Right, OK, boys, we see that you're there. Can you hang off,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46"because we might get problems?"
0:25:46 > 0:25:49From the look on his face, we thought,
0:25:49 > 0:25:51"This is a man that really doesn't want to be there."
0:25:51 > 0:25:55Then there was guys coming down the spider deck.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Most of them were just dressed in their normal everyday gear.
0:25:58 > 0:26:00That's when we realised then,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03there's something really not right about this.
0:26:06 > 0:26:07RADIO STATIC
0:26:35 > 0:26:38That night I was in the Sandhaven.
0:26:38 > 0:26:44It was a supply vessel, but converted into a safety vessel
0:26:44 > 0:26:48that could do supply work as well, at the same time.
0:26:49 > 0:26:55I could see smoke coming out of one end of the Piper.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58I knew it was a big problem then.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Because there was no lifeboats in the water.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06And I thought, "Well, men could be in the water."
0:27:06 > 0:27:11Even in that decent weather, not going to last long in the North Sea.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13So, I launched the boat and off the lads went,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15and I followed them up.
0:27:18 > 0:27:23It was Brian Batchelor, Ian Latham and Malcolm Storey in the boats...
0:27:25 > 0:27:27that went up to the Piper.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02The initial phase was for the oil personnel to go to their lifeboats.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04But I think what happened that night
0:28:04 > 0:28:08was just completely different to anything that was planned.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10You couldn't get to your lifeboats,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13because they had to pass through an area
0:28:13 > 0:28:16where the fire had taken hold, and it had taken hold so quickly.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18The amount of smoke around, I thought,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20there's no helicopter coming in.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23You can't even see to come in, it was that thick with smoke.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25The Tharos, we thought, maybe,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28but the bridge between the Tharos and the platform down,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31but the Tharos had pulled off and no way could that get close,
0:28:31 > 0:28:33because they would put themselves at risk as well.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35So, it was confusing,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39and people weren't quite sure, really, where to go next.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Well, there hadn't been an "Abandon Ship".
0:28:48 > 0:28:52There was no official "Abandon Ship" on the Piper that night.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57There was no-one who said, "OK, everyone off the rig."
0:28:57 > 0:29:01Because, there was nowhere to go.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05We saw that the divers had actually gone down and knotted rope
0:29:05 > 0:29:08and they left the knotted rope there.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11We said, "Well, we'll follow them down."
0:29:14 > 0:29:16I'll be quite honest with you,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19my adrenaline hadn't started going at this point.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23But you hadn't been up and seen the actual fire.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27I had a lifejacket on at the time, so I took it off.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30And at this moment, there was a massive explosion.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35EXPLOSION
0:30:05 > 0:30:08I just went up on the ball of one foot,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12kicked off on the other, and spun round, and then,
0:30:12 > 0:30:16I didn't know what was below me, I knew I had to get out of that flame
0:30:16 > 0:30:22and most of the lads who I was standing with
0:30:22 > 0:30:25never made it.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Three dead that I know of.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Three of us that were in that area,
0:30:31 > 0:30:35but a good few of the lads never were seen again.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41I was maybe 50, 60, 70 yards away from the platform
0:30:41 > 0:30:43and the heat was intense, even then.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48The lads jumping off the rope, falling off the rope,
0:30:48 > 0:30:51jumping over the side, it was horrific.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56The legs had things like protectors on them,
0:30:56 > 0:30:59to stop the supply ships bumping against them.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01I remember one lad falling off from a height
0:31:01 > 0:31:04and bumping onto this and bouncing off his back.
0:31:04 > 0:31:06I thought, "Oh!"
0:31:06 > 0:31:08I can't remember his name, but I met him later
0:31:08 > 0:31:12and he had hurt his back, but he survived.
0:31:12 > 0:31:18You wonder why people would jump out of a 30, 40-storey block window,
0:31:18 > 0:31:20when fire's at the back.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23Well, I know why now.
0:31:23 > 0:31:27Because I jumped as well...
0:31:27 > 0:31:30and I was very lucky to survive.
0:31:59 > 0:32:05When I hit the sea, I went very deep, very deep.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07You could see, up above,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10the flames were lighting up the surface of the sea,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13so I started swimming up towards the surface.
0:32:17 > 0:32:18You're blowing out bubbles
0:32:18 > 0:32:22and trying to keep at pace with the bubbles, sort of thing,
0:32:22 > 0:32:25which is old films that you've seen, you know.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57What I learned at sea was, you might have got away from a rig,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59you might have got off a sinking ship, yeah?
0:32:59 > 0:33:01But once you're in that water,
0:33:01 > 0:33:05that's when you really DO need all your survival skills.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10If you're working in a factory, the alarm bell goes,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12you go into the car park, you're safe, yeah?
0:33:12 > 0:33:15You get your name ticked off, the fire brigade arrives, yeah?
0:33:15 > 0:33:17That doesn't happen at sea.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Particularly not on a ship, particularly not on an oil rig, yeah?
0:33:20 > 0:33:23That fire alarm goes off, if you can't fight that fire,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25if something happens to your rig or happens to that ship
0:33:25 > 0:33:28and you end up in the water, that's when your survival starts.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30That's the beginning of your problems,
0:33:30 > 0:33:34it's not the end of your problems, it's the beginning of your problems.
0:33:38 > 0:33:43As I got towards the surface, I was struggling then for breath.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47I didn't think I was going to make it.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50And I started swimming a bit more
0:33:50 > 0:33:53and I thought, "Oh, blow this bubble business!"
0:33:53 > 0:33:58You start panicking a bit, you know. Finally, I did hit the surface.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14I looked up and you were under a grill.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17There was no other word to describe it.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20The top of my head started to cook.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31Steam was rising off the water.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34And I was really in a bad way then.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36I thought, "I'm going to die,
0:34:36 > 0:34:39"either I'm going to be burnt to death
0:34:39 > 0:34:41"or I'm going to drown."
0:34:41 > 0:34:44And I said, "I think I would sooner drown," I said.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48"I think that's a more peaceful death."
0:34:48 > 0:34:53And so I...plunged myself under the water
0:34:53 > 0:34:58and pedalled down under the water.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01And I thought I was maybe going under for the last time.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16It wasn't as if I had an option.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20I just had a choice of one way or the other.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24My decision was that I thought drowning might be...
0:35:24 > 0:35:26an easier death than burning.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42I got an image of my younger daughter
0:35:42 > 0:35:46and I'd promised to give her the same type of wedding
0:35:46 > 0:35:49as I'd given my eldest daughter,
0:35:49 > 0:35:51which was a grand affair.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55It had gone very well and, as I say, my youngest daughter,
0:35:55 > 0:35:58she'd said, "Look, I'd like a wedding like that,"
0:35:58 > 0:36:00and I'd promised her, I said,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03"You can get a wedding like that, no problem."
0:36:03 > 0:36:07And...this sort of, clicked with me
0:36:07 > 0:36:09and I said, "I've got to survive this."
0:36:12 > 0:36:17I knew I had to push through the barriers and make this happen.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29When I hit the surface again,
0:36:29 > 0:36:31and I was a bit further away from the rig,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33and the flames were curling up a little
0:36:33 > 0:36:35as you got further away from the rig.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41The currents were taking me away as well, thank goodness,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43and I started swimming then.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48I noticed a body quite close.
0:36:52 > 0:36:53He had a life jacket on.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55I didn't realise that it was...
0:36:55 > 0:36:58I thought, "It's someone, I'll go over
0:36:58 > 0:37:01"and see how they are," like. And I swam over towards him,
0:37:01 > 0:37:07and realised it was face-down, still, and he was not moving at all.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09And I realised he was dead.
0:37:11 > 0:37:16And...he had a life jacket, which I didn't have now.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18And I thought...
0:37:18 > 0:37:20"I can't steal his life jacket,"
0:37:20 > 0:37:23I just couldn't do that, I couldn't take it off him.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26I said, "What I'll do, I'll rest against it,
0:37:26 > 0:37:28"rest against it on his back,"
0:37:28 > 0:37:33and I didn't want to lift him up to look at who it was. Because...
0:37:36 > 0:37:38..you knew it could be someone you knew.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43Excuse me, I'm sorry about that. Erm...
0:37:43 > 0:37:46and you didn't want to...
0:37:49 > 0:37:53You didn't want to... You wanted to treat him with respect.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58I lent on him, as I say, and it gave me a respite.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Even now I feel a little guilty about doing that.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13My strength started building up again a bit
0:38:13 > 0:38:17- and then I heard voices shouting me...- 'Over here!'
0:38:17 > 0:38:21..and it was lads who were clinging to a quarter of a lifeboat.
0:38:23 > 0:38:29And so I let go of the body and swam over to the lifeboat.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52There was about five of us on this bit of lifeboat.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57One of the lads, Eric, a French lad, he was in a very bad way.
0:38:57 > 0:39:00He was very badly burnt and you could see that just looking at him.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Erm...
0:39:04 > 0:39:06And then we were looking around
0:39:06 > 0:39:11to try and find a way of surviving again, and the Silver Pit,
0:39:11 > 0:39:15we were waving like mad, it went past us waving like mad
0:39:15 > 0:39:17and never saw us.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20And then it came back, going the other way,
0:39:20 > 0:39:22and it saw us then.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25They came up to us and dragged us on board.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37At that point I felt even euphoric because we'd survived.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40We'd actually lived through it.
0:39:43 > 0:39:46You didn't realise just how many people had...
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Had gone, in that night, you know?
0:40:11 > 0:40:13We look back on that now and say
0:40:13 > 0:40:16that was day one in our life, a new life.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21That's the way some of us look at it, you know?
0:40:30 > 0:40:34EXPLOSIONS
0:40:44 > 0:40:46Fire in the night, yeah, uh-huh.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51You were hearing explosions.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55I can only describe it as a kind of like staccato.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58You know, "Bam, bam, bam." EXPLOSIONS BOOMING
0:40:58 > 0:41:02Maybe a couple of explosions and then a pause, another explosion,
0:41:02 > 0:41:04and then a bigger pause.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09But I mind to think at that time we didnae have a choice here.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12We have to do... We have to get them on the rescue craft.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14We have to get them to safety.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17Men were screaming.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20At the time, you know, you thought to yourself, "But I have to do this.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24"I really have to get you off this life raft
0:41:24 > 0:41:26"and get you somewhere safe."
0:41:36 > 0:41:40At one time there was a massive double explosion above us
0:41:40 > 0:41:42and I honestly thought, for me, this was it.
0:41:42 > 0:41:44I thought, "This..." you know,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47I thought to myself, "I'm going to die here."
0:41:47 > 0:41:49But, like everything else, a split second later,
0:41:49 > 0:41:52you're still here, eh? You've survived, you're here, you know?
0:41:52 > 0:41:55And that was at the time, I think it was the diver,
0:41:55 > 0:41:57we watched the diver swimming towards us.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00He went down and I thought, "We've lost him."
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Then he bobbed back up again and I thought, "Great,"
0:42:03 > 0:42:04and I was still coming,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07because we're still trying to push towards him, he's still swimming.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10He goes underneath for a second time and I thought, "Oh, right."
0:42:10 > 0:42:12Then he bobs up again, eh?
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Then he swims, then he's almost right at us
0:42:15 > 0:42:17and I mind he went down for a third time,
0:42:17 > 0:42:18and I don't know what got me,
0:42:18 > 0:42:20but there's an old seaman's adage that says
0:42:20 > 0:42:23"if you go down for a third time you'll never come up."
0:42:23 > 0:42:26I don't know where that adage comes from, but I sort of thinking it.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29And what I remember doing was thinking,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33I shoved my hand under the water, more in hope than expectation...
0:42:33 > 0:42:37but somehow I managed to come up with this guy with the head of the hair.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Dinnae ask me, you know...
0:42:40 > 0:42:42I-I remember, like that...
0:42:42 > 0:42:46and almost the minute his head appeared above the water
0:42:46 > 0:42:51Jimmy Clark, Andy Kyle grabbed him under the armpits
0:42:51 > 0:42:54and we unceremoniously hauled this guy on board.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59It was Eric.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Sadly, out of the 36 guys that we had rescued,
0:43:03 > 0:43:06unfortunately, Eric didnae make it.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37It's all night, it's horrendous.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43All doing the same, trying to get off.
0:44:43 > 0:44:47It's one of the rare occasions footballing come in me head.
0:44:49 > 0:44:51There was still emergency lights
0:44:51 > 0:44:53that usually light up the passageways.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58Right along to the end, up the stairs, the canteen area.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01Seen some guys with their snorkels on
0:45:01 > 0:45:04and their masks, heading out the door.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Telling everybody to stay in the canteen area.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13By then it was all smoke and everything upstairs.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16It was a mess, with windows breaking, glass and everything.
0:45:22 > 0:45:26I only went back up to look for my painter
0:45:26 > 0:45:27but he wasn't in the first hall.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31He'd already been inside the canteen.
0:45:31 > 0:45:32And you couldn't get in that door
0:45:32 > 0:45:35because there were heaps of guys standing around it.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43Then again, if I had gone in the canteen
0:45:43 > 0:45:45I wouldn't have been here today.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50FLAMES ROAR AND MEN SHOUT
0:45:52 > 0:45:54The fire's that way.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57'You're going up and down, trying different doors'
0:45:57 > 0:46:00and we'd just, like, crack the door
0:46:00 > 0:46:03and you could hear the roar of the fire.
0:46:03 > 0:46:05FLAMES ROAR
0:46:05 > 0:46:11Every door we tried, it was the same. That's when all the lights went out.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17'It's when you get the flutters.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20'You think, "Crikey, not going to get off this." '
0:46:20 > 0:46:22Go up that way!
0:46:22 > 0:46:23This way!
0:46:27 > 0:46:30Come on, boys, this way!
0:46:34 > 0:46:37'This is when I bumped into the roommate, Bill.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40'I didn't recognise him. His face was black.'
0:46:43 > 0:46:44Saw Barry on the stair.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49We told him that they'd been out on the pipe deck
0:46:49 > 0:46:51and it was, far as I was concerned, it was clear.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54It was just smoke coming from a burning skip.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56He said, "OK." I said,
0:46:56 > 0:46:59"I've told the guys upstairs earlier that it was clearer down here
0:46:59 > 0:47:00"but they didn't want to come."
0:47:00 > 0:47:03He says, "No, just lead on, lead on," he said.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05So we just took off along the passageway.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25We was making us way down different levels.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27Some parts you could get down the stairs,
0:47:27 > 0:47:29but other parts was on fire.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37Then we had to go along the beam, down a column.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40You know, just sliding down here and walking here,
0:47:40 > 0:47:44jumping about different areas of the rig.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46MEN SHOUTING
0:47:48 > 0:47:52I'm a rigger by trade and used to walking along the beam,
0:47:52 > 0:47:56but Bill, he was a painting foreman.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00It wouldn't have been so easy for Billy. He come down like a gun.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05You support each other, innit? It's...
0:48:07 > 0:48:08It's your friend for life then, innit?
0:48:17 > 0:48:20Barry seen a painter rope and he threw it over.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23He said we're going down a rope and I said, "Aye, lead on."
0:48:25 > 0:48:28I get down the rope into the sea...
0:48:31 > 0:48:35It didn't feel cold at the time and I'd fell into the sea before.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38I think I could swim in it all night after getting off that.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44Then Willy's climbing onto the rope and starting to come down
0:48:44 > 0:48:46and I thought, "He can't swim."
0:48:48 > 0:48:53Help! Help!
0:49:02 > 0:49:06One minute he was in the water, the next minute he's hanging in the air.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10Like a bell-ringer, going up and down.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26When the swell started hitting me feet, that's when I stopped
0:49:26 > 0:49:29and just held on, and Barry's swimming just out from me, shouting,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32"Come on, come on!", and I said, "Nah, I can't swim. No, no!"
0:49:32 > 0:49:35And he kept treading water, watching me,
0:49:35 > 0:49:39and then the boat came round, one of the fast rescue craft...
0:49:39 > 0:49:41So, I let go then, when they came near me,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44I let go then and they just hooked me in.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24I had to pull away from the rig because it was too hot.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30I was at the back of the bridge, which was...
0:50:30 > 0:50:33I had another, maybe, 40 metres of ship,
0:50:33 > 0:50:38and then another good couple of hundred metres to the rig.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41And I couldn't bear the heat through the glass at the back of the bridge.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43It was a tremendous heat.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51But my lads, they'd already picked some men up.
0:50:51 > 0:50:55As they came away from the rig the coxswain, Brian Batchelor,
0:50:55 > 0:50:57who was one of my best buddies,
0:50:57 > 0:51:00he saw another couple of men coming down the bulk hoses,
0:51:00 > 0:51:04so he turned round and went back to pick these up.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08Well, one of them fell in the water, they picked him up.
0:51:08 > 0:51:10The second one, when he got down to the lobe,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14which was about 20, 30 foot off the water, he wouldn't let go.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18FLAMES ROAR
0:51:30 > 0:51:32Oh, it was a tremendous noise.
0:51:32 > 0:51:37Tremendous hiss and...then bangs,
0:51:37 > 0:51:39and more explosions.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41And a... HE HISSES
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Terrible noise.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52There must have been a big pocket of gas underneath the rig
0:51:52 > 0:51:56that was just sitting there, and a spark must have got down to it,
0:51:56 > 0:51:59and it just came down onto the water.
0:51:59 > 0:52:01The boat was there, then the boat was gone.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09I kept on calling and calling, and calling on the radio.
0:52:09 > 0:52:12"Answer me! Come on, Brian. Come on, rescue one, where are you?
0:52:12 > 0:52:14"Come on, answer me!"
0:52:16 > 0:52:20Of course, there was no answer because they weren't there.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06Even those shots I have seen on television since then,
0:53:06 > 0:53:12seeing the amount of flame there was then and the timescale,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15and I think to myself, "I was still on that then,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18"with all that...fire going on."
0:53:18 > 0:53:22I often wonder how I ever managed to survive it.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25How any of us managed to survive being on the platform that long.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29Timescale now, I can't actually put a figure to it.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31People were just milling along,
0:53:31 > 0:53:33thinking, "Where shall we go, what shall we do?"
0:53:33 > 0:53:36And the galley area, that's where everyone was sort of congregating.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39I just thought, "There's no point waiting for things to happen.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41"I want to see for myself if I can get off."
0:53:41 > 0:53:44I was looking after me, by that time.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48METAL CREAKS
0:53:48 > 0:53:50'How are you feeling at that time? Did you realise...?'
0:53:50 > 0:53:52Crapped myself.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54Erm...you...
0:53:54 > 0:53:56realised how serious it was.
0:53:56 > 0:53:59It's like, "How am I going to get off here?"
0:53:59 > 0:54:02There was no obvious way of getting away from the platform.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04You were boxed in.
0:54:05 > 0:54:09It was filling up with smoke, it was obvious that it wasn't a place to be.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11There was a guy stood next to me and he had a torch.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14He said, "It's no good staying in here, we need to get outside."
0:54:19 > 0:54:21I started thinking about going up to the helideck
0:54:21 > 0:54:24to get away from the smoke.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26That was about the time, I think, an explosion came.
0:54:51 > 0:54:52I think that's the same time
0:54:52 > 0:54:55that lots of people who were up there themselves decided to jump.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57Some people jumped from the helideck.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Well, we were at the platform area of the helideck,
0:55:03 > 0:55:08which, I learnt later on, is 175 feet from the sea level.
0:55:08 > 0:55:10We were looking down on the Tharos...
0:55:11 > 0:55:15and we're waving to them, for them to try and do something to help us.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19They was just standing, looking up at us waving to them.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21METAL CREAKS
0:55:25 > 0:55:30Walked across the helideck, trying to work out what I was going to do now.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34There was a fella just standing, staring...
0:55:34 > 0:55:36I walked past him and I said, "You cannae stand there, mate,"
0:55:36 > 0:55:40I said, "you've got to try and get off," and he just looked at us.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Never said anything, just looked at us. Looked straight through us.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48Then I walked away into the smoke again, and never seen him again.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58We decided to go up onto the helideck,
0:55:58 > 0:56:01but just as soon as we got over to that side
0:56:01 > 0:56:02there was a major explosion.
0:56:02 > 0:56:07A 36-inch pipe, I think it was, there, it fractured,
0:56:07 > 0:56:12and that's when the huge fireball engulfed the rig.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19You just didnae know. Didn't know what it was,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21but you just instinctively knew,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24"God, that was something terrible's happened."
0:56:24 > 0:56:27FLAMES ROAR AND METAL CREAKS
0:56:32 > 0:56:38- 'Did you think, "I'm going to die here"?- Oh, yeah, yeah.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40It's... I said a few prayers but...
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Can we just stop there a sec?
0:56:48 > 0:56:50OK...
0:56:50 > 0:56:53- Yeah, it was... Sorry.- 'Did you...?'
0:56:53 > 0:56:55I thought we were doomed.
0:56:55 > 0:57:02I really did. I said a few prayers and there was a huge explosion.
0:57:02 > 0:57:08And it blew the end of... this cabin off.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11So, it was an escape route, but at the same time,
0:57:11 > 0:57:14there was a big hole opened in the floor
0:57:14 > 0:57:18and I don't know what happened to the two guys that were there.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20To me, they just disappeared, so...
0:57:20 > 0:57:23I think they actually went through the hole, but...
0:57:26 > 0:57:28Can I just stop again? Sorry.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37One of the guys I worked with,
0:57:37 > 0:57:41he'd been off and he'd been on his summer holidays.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45He says to me, he was glad that he'd such a good holiday...
0:57:47 > 0:57:53er, with his kids and that, and that, you know, he came offshore...
0:57:55 > 0:57:59..with happy memories of his family.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10- 'Did he make it?'- No.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18I met his wife a couple of times in Aberdeen and...
0:58:20 > 0:58:21I told her what had happened...
0:58:23 > 0:58:27and I think she was glad that we were there together.
0:58:34 > 0:58:36'It's a difficult thing to say.'
0:58:38 > 0:58:42I've not really... I've not said it for 24 years or so.
0:58:56 > 0:58:59We'd go one yard one way or one yard the other way
0:58:59 > 0:59:01and it might have been me.
0:59:04 > 0:59:08The explosion cleared the smoke somewhat, for a while.
0:59:08 > 0:59:09It was either...
0:59:09 > 0:59:13stay there and get fried or jump, not knowing what was below.
0:59:13 > 0:59:15It didn't really seem to matter at the time, do you know what I mean?
0:59:15 > 0:59:19So, thankfully, what was below was water.
0:59:25 > 0:59:27I was, like, down on me knees and that.
0:59:27 > 0:59:31I think I was trying to just get a rest or trying to think.
0:59:31 > 0:59:34I even spoke to me wife, at the time.
0:59:34 > 0:59:36I says, "I know I'm not going to get stuck on here,
0:59:36 > 0:59:39"I'm going to get off," and that's what I said to me wife.
0:59:41 > 0:59:45Just trying to think what to do next.
0:59:45 > 0:59:47I just stepped out...
0:59:47 > 0:59:50of the helideck, into the water.
0:59:58 > 1:00:04I ran over to the north side of the platform and had a look over
1:00:04 > 1:00:09and I took my life jacket off and threw it in in front of me
1:00:09 > 1:00:13and took two steps cos there was a safety net around the helideck.
1:00:13 > 1:00:18I took two steps off, two steps and jumped off.
1:00:18 > 1:00:23And just... I jumped off, and I just thought to myself,
1:00:23 > 1:00:26"What the fuck have I done?"
1:01:03 > 1:01:06The Zodiac took the Tharos
1:01:06 > 1:01:08and they lifted it out of the water.
1:01:08 > 1:01:11As it was lifting up, all you could see
1:01:11 > 1:01:13was what was left of Piper.
1:01:13 > 1:01:14It was...
1:01:15 > 1:01:17Sorry...
1:01:18 > 1:01:21It was horrendous. It was...
1:01:21 > 1:01:23You just... I felt...
1:01:23 > 1:01:26I'll honestly thought I must be the only one that survived that.
1:01:37 > 1:01:40As the night wore on,
1:01:40 > 1:01:44we were conscious that we were finding less and less guys.
1:01:45 > 1:01:48The last time that we went to the rig,
1:01:48 > 1:01:51the whole world just seemed to be on fire.
1:01:51 > 1:01:54The noise was absolutely deafening, I could not begin...
1:01:54 > 1:01:56If you could imagine,
1:01:56 > 1:01:58if you can imagine a blowtorch
1:01:58 > 1:02:01and then magnify the sound of that blow torch
1:02:01 > 1:02:03maybe 3,000 or 4,000 times,
1:02:03 > 1:02:07then you will get an idea of the noise.
1:02:07 > 1:02:09It was a cacophony of hell,
1:02:09 > 1:02:11that's the only way I could describe it.
1:02:24 > 1:02:27I will never forget that noise.
1:02:27 > 1:02:29Never forget that noise.
1:02:44 > 1:02:48It must have been an hour I'd been going around the platform,
1:02:48 > 1:02:49trying to find my way off.
1:02:49 > 1:02:53I think I was getting to the stage of being quite fatalistic by that time.
1:02:56 > 1:02:58The platform was beginning to break up.
1:02:58 > 1:03:02I could hear the gratings breaking.
1:03:04 > 1:03:06It was just a noise,
1:03:06 > 1:03:12like an eerie noise of things just creaking and grinding,
1:03:12 > 1:03:15as if the welding was melting.
1:03:17 > 1:03:22Supports gave way and the area we were on actually tilted.
1:03:25 > 1:03:27Everyone just shook hands
1:03:27 > 1:03:31and, you know, we were sort of saying that was it.
1:03:31 > 1:03:35We were just shaking hands and saying, "This is the end."
1:03:37 > 1:03:40I thought, "I've got to do something, go somewhere, do something,
1:03:40 > 1:03:43"keep trying at least to get away from this."
1:03:47 > 1:03:50I came out of this tool store...
1:03:50 > 1:03:53and that's when I could see clear air.
1:03:54 > 1:03:57The crane operator had dropped the pipes onto the deck...
1:03:58 > 1:04:02and they were creating, like, a bridge to walk along.
1:04:02 > 1:04:05I could see this guy at the end of these pipes.
1:04:05 > 1:04:08He'd been walking along the pipes and jumped off into the sea
1:04:08 > 1:04:12and I thought, "I'm going the same way, that's where I'll go."
1:04:19 > 1:04:21The deck was very, very hot.
1:04:21 > 1:04:23It was hot to the touch.
1:04:23 > 1:04:25I could feel it through my feet.
1:04:25 > 1:04:27It definitely was melting.
1:04:32 > 1:04:33I had my life jacket on
1:04:33 > 1:04:36and I had my survival suit on and I stood, looking down.
1:04:38 > 1:04:41I couldn't really see the sea, if there were any obstructions at all,
1:04:41 > 1:04:44but I did as you should always do
1:04:44 > 1:04:47before jumping in from any distance at all -
1:04:47 > 1:04:49hand across the lifejacket,
1:04:49 > 1:04:52hand over your nose to stop the water going too far up,
1:04:52 > 1:04:55and I went to jump, but as I was doing that,
1:04:55 > 1:04:59someone from behind said that his feet were on fire
1:04:59 > 1:05:02and...gave me a shove.
1:05:09 > 1:05:12I just remember going head-over-heels and thinking,
1:05:12 > 1:05:14"I'm getting away from the flames,
1:05:14 > 1:05:17"but I'm going to break my neck hitting the water now."
1:05:17 > 1:05:19I don't even remember hitting the water.
1:05:23 > 1:05:27I came up on my back, marvelling how warm the water was.
1:05:36 > 1:05:39I came across a partition, floating.
1:05:39 > 1:05:42So I managed to pull myself onto that
1:05:42 > 1:05:44and paddle away from the platform
1:05:44 > 1:05:46using some trainers which were floating around.
1:05:48 > 1:05:50I was just thinking then, "Thank God for that,
1:05:50 > 1:05:54"I'm away from that inferno,
1:05:54 > 1:05:56"away from the smoke..."
1:05:58 > 1:06:03Which was so... I think the smoke was as bad as the heat.
1:06:03 > 1:06:07To be in clear air, floating away from the platform was a great relief.
1:06:09 > 1:06:11I say, the trainers were floating by,
1:06:11 > 1:06:13that's what I used to start paddling away,
1:06:13 > 1:06:15and also boxes of cigars.
1:06:17 > 1:06:19And although I used to smoke cigarettes,
1:06:19 > 1:06:22having inhaled that much smoke I thought I'd pack the cigarettes in
1:06:22 > 1:06:25but I'd start smoking cigars!
1:06:56 > 1:07:00You could hear the rig in its death throes
1:07:00 > 1:07:06and it was, oh, a big moaning of...
1:07:06 > 1:07:10metal, as it sort of melted and was bending.
1:07:10 > 1:07:15It wasn't doing it silently. It was...
1:07:15 > 1:07:18You could hear the noise, it was like a big...
1:07:18 > 1:07:20HE GROANS
1:07:20 > 1:07:24Well, I can't get anywhere near it, but...
1:07:27 > 1:07:30..it's a sound that will be with me for ever.
1:07:32 > 1:07:35It was just the death of the platform
1:07:35 > 1:07:37that I was hearing there, like.
1:07:37 > 1:07:40And then one big chunk just...
1:07:40 > 1:07:43It was like slow motion.
1:07:43 > 1:07:44It just went.
1:07:46 > 1:07:48And all you saw was legs.
1:07:50 > 1:07:53And the end bit of the rig still stuck up, burning.
1:07:56 > 1:07:59Realising what was on the seabed -
1:07:59 > 1:08:01all them men.
1:08:03 > 1:08:06I don't know if they were still alive at that point,
1:08:06 > 1:08:10but anyone who was remaining there,
1:08:10 > 1:08:13that was them right down to the bottom of the sea.
1:08:17 > 1:08:19Aye.
1:08:22 > 1:08:26And there was a lot of folks, a lot of lads I knew there.
1:08:36 > 1:08:42I thought I'd just see it floating and everybody was going to be saved.
1:08:44 > 1:08:46But it just hit and went straight under.
1:09:12 > 1:09:15- Do you regret seeing that now?- Yes.
1:09:18 > 1:09:20I should never have stood and watched it.
1:09:23 > 1:09:26I suppose that's something I'll never forget.
1:09:48 > 1:09:50Thank God for one thing,
1:09:50 > 1:09:53all the painters were off the rig for that night.
1:09:53 > 1:09:56Thank God they were all off.
1:09:57 > 1:09:58Except the one, like.
1:10:00 > 1:10:02Can you remember the painter's name?
1:10:04 > 1:10:06Shaun Glendinning.
1:10:14 > 1:10:16From Brechin.
1:10:20 > 1:10:23At least I'd like to think that I managed to get Barry off.
1:10:40 > 1:10:43Just a bit of water, that's fine.
1:10:43 > 1:10:46I am not sure the number of casualties.
1:10:46 > 1:10:49I believe it's about 150.
1:10:49 > 1:10:53Fatalities. But I'm not sure yet.
1:10:53 > 1:10:55We haven't got the full numbers.
1:11:35 > 1:11:37Rescue 01, Tharos.
1:11:37 > 1:11:41Which is the next aircraft you can task for evacuations?
1:11:43 > 1:11:49'Whiskey 1-3, we will be around in about five to ten minutes.'
1:12:42 > 1:12:45I don't remember any of the folk I was with
1:12:45 > 1:12:48recognising anybody from the ambulances.
1:12:48 > 1:12:51And as time went on and the long gaps developed,
1:12:51 > 1:12:54sadness and a bit of despair set in.
1:13:10 > 1:13:13And then word came...
1:13:14 > 1:13:16no more helicopters.
1:13:19 > 1:13:22There was a kind of stunned silence
1:13:22 > 1:13:25and then groups started forming...
1:13:26 > 1:13:28crying,
1:13:28 > 1:13:30crying.
1:13:30 > 1:13:32Numb.
1:13:33 > 1:13:35"What do we do now?"
1:13:40 > 1:13:45Gradually folk just drifted away.
1:13:47 > 1:13:51And by maybe five o'clock, half past five...
1:13:53 > 1:13:54..all was quiet.
1:14:34 > 1:14:38My wife didn't find out until after nine that I'd survived.
1:14:39 > 1:14:41You see, they were phoning up all the time
1:14:41 > 1:14:45and she says all they kept saying to them was..
1:14:45 > 1:14:47that I'm missing, presumed dead.
1:14:51 > 1:14:53But thankfully, I'm...
1:14:53 > 1:14:55They said I was missing, but I wasn't,
1:14:55 > 1:14:57and I'm definitely not dead.
1:14:59 > 1:15:03When they got ashore and off the helicopter,
1:15:03 > 1:15:07you could see wives and everything looking for their husbands.
1:15:09 > 1:15:12Aye, it was... It was grim.
1:15:14 > 1:15:18At that point you realised that you'd truly survived.
1:15:30 > 1:15:32I was burnt, yeah.
1:15:32 > 1:15:37My head was badly burnt and my hands were burnt, and...
1:15:37 > 1:15:40my back, I had a slight burn on my back as well, so...
1:15:41 > 1:15:44There happened to be a meeting in Birmingham
1:15:44 > 1:15:47of all the burns doctors in the country.
1:15:47 > 1:15:51They dropped everything and they came up.
1:15:51 > 1:15:53And they were there to treat us.
1:15:54 > 1:15:56Can't thank them enough for that.
1:15:59 > 1:16:02It was me and Roy Carey, were just in a ward.
1:16:03 > 1:16:09There wasn't any charring of the skin on my arms or anything,
1:16:09 > 1:16:12so there was no direct contact with flames,
1:16:12 > 1:16:15it was just the heat radiation coming of the rig.
1:16:15 > 1:16:17And they reckon it was actually...
1:16:18 > 1:16:21happened during the fall that I had.
1:16:22 > 1:16:23I just...
1:16:24 > 1:16:27wanted to see my mum, my sister.
1:16:28 > 1:16:32I was told they were on their way to the hospital, so...
1:16:32 > 1:16:36I just kind of kept going until I seen them.
1:16:36 > 1:16:39And then er...they come in...
1:16:40 > 1:16:44- REPORTER: What was that like? - Aye, well, amazing!
1:16:44 > 1:16:46Amazing, you know?
1:16:47 > 1:16:50To see my mum's face...
1:16:54 > 1:16:58MONITORS BLEEP
1:17:00 > 1:17:04REPORTER: You must have unfortunately lost some friends that night,
1:17:04 > 1:17:06how are you managing to cope with that?
1:17:06 > 1:17:10There's two friends I work with and they've not been seen.
1:17:10 > 1:17:13The lads have got families, like, you know?
1:17:13 > 1:17:15Whereas we've got injuries and that,
1:17:15 > 1:17:17but at least we get to see our families.
1:17:17 > 1:17:21You feel sorry for your friends you've lost...
1:17:21 > 1:17:22It's one of them things.
1:17:25 > 1:17:26Can't be helped.
1:17:30 > 1:17:31REPORTER: OK.
1:17:38 > 1:17:41In the hospital, the people who was in the ward where I was,
1:17:41 > 1:17:43we had a laugh.
1:17:43 > 1:17:46That was the point of us being alive.
1:17:46 > 1:17:51Erm... It was like everybody was trying to cheer each other up.
1:17:51 > 1:17:54But it was like, we're all pals together.
1:17:57 > 1:17:59Where have you been?
1:17:59 > 1:18:02- Get the beers, please.- Cheers, mate.
1:18:02 > 1:18:04- You're welcome.- Cheers.
1:18:05 > 1:18:06It's been a good friendship.
1:18:06 > 1:18:10It's just, for some reason, we meet up every year.
1:18:10 > 1:18:12We know what each other's survived,
1:18:12 > 1:18:15and we know what each other's been through.
1:18:15 > 1:18:18On occasions, Piper Alpha might crop up,
1:18:18 > 1:18:21but it'll be a very small subject what it's about.
1:18:21 > 1:18:24Propose a toast, right? You do it.
1:18:24 > 1:18:28Same next year, same old thing, meet up again.
1:18:28 > 1:18:33- We've had 25 years.- Here's to the next 25.- Just progress. 25?!
1:18:33 > 1:18:35God willing.
1:18:35 > 1:18:36GLASSES CHINK
1:19:13 > 1:19:16I actually went back to sea afterwards.
1:19:16 > 1:19:19And one of the ships I was on was a guard ship for the Piper Alpha,
1:19:19 > 1:19:21by that time we'd stopped being a rescue vessel
1:19:21 > 1:19:23and we were a guard ship.
1:19:23 > 1:19:25And, the heat shield was there
1:19:25 > 1:19:29and it kind of reminded me of a squat, ugly crab,
1:19:29 > 1:19:32you know, with these two big...
1:19:33 > 1:19:35And we hated this thing.
1:19:35 > 1:19:39We hated this thing because it caused so much misery.
1:19:39 > 1:19:41You didn't want it to be there,
1:19:41 > 1:19:44you wanted it wiped from the face of the earth.
1:19:44 > 1:19:48And yet, I was also there when they brought the Piper Alpha down,
1:19:48 > 1:19:50and they demolished it.
1:19:50 > 1:19:53And I mind... I mind of it coming down
1:19:53 > 1:19:58and I mind the sea swallowing it up, you know the big wave,
1:19:58 > 1:20:02the sea swallowing it up, and then everything returned to normal.
1:20:02 > 1:20:04But then I remember thinking,
1:20:04 > 1:20:06"But there's nothing there any more."
1:20:09 > 1:20:12I hated it for being there, but when they demolished it,
1:20:12 > 1:20:14you hated it for not being there,
1:20:14 > 1:20:16because there was nothing there that said
1:20:16 > 1:20:18something terrible, something...
1:20:18 > 1:20:20A great tragedy's happened here.
1:20:33 > 1:20:36WAVES CRASH
1:21:18 > 1:21:20The four of us in the rescue craft that night
1:21:20 > 1:21:23were awarded the George Medal.
1:21:23 > 1:21:25We accepted the medal.
1:21:25 > 1:21:27Everybody on the Silver Pit
1:21:27 > 1:21:29and everybody on the rescue craft that night
1:21:29 > 1:21:31deserved a George Medal.
1:21:34 > 1:21:39Even after 25 years, I still live with the Piper Alpha.
1:21:39 > 1:21:42It's always going to sit with me, it's always going to be there.
1:21:42 > 1:21:45I can't get away from it and there's no point in trying.
1:21:45 > 1:21:47I wouldn't want to now,
1:21:47 > 1:21:50I wouldn't want to forget about the Piper Alpha.
1:21:58 > 1:22:03Piper will never go away. There's always a reminder.
1:22:09 > 1:22:11I wasn't a good boy the first year.
1:22:15 > 1:22:17Drinking, digging holes.
1:22:19 > 1:22:23I started digging a hole in the garden.
1:22:23 > 1:22:26And I think the neighbours were asking the wife, "What's going on?"
1:22:26 > 1:22:28She said, "Just leave him."
1:22:28 > 1:22:31Just got a spade out and started digging.
1:22:33 > 1:22:36I think, by the time I'd finished digging,
1:22:36 > 1:22:38I could just see across the top of it.
1:22:44 > 1:22:46Then I took to the drink.
1:22:46 > 1:22:50That carried on for nearly a year.
1:22:51 > 1:22:55At the time I wanted to forget...
1:22:57 > 1:22:58but it wouldn't go away.
1:23:01 > 1:23:05And then I went to that survivor's help.
1:23:05 > 1:23:10It took them a long time to get me there, but they kept asking for me.
1:23:12 > 1:23:15I attended the meetings, I didn't have much to say.
1:23:15 > 1:23:21They thought it would help talking it out. But it didn't.
1:23:22 > 1:23:24And then Sue Jane came along.
1:23:28 > 1:23:29And that helped, yeah.
1:24:05 > 1:24:08She had been attending the meetings
1:24:08 > 1:24:14to see if she could get somebody to go and pose as a model for her, like.
1:24:14 > 1:24:18I said, "Right, I'll do it for nothing." And that was it.
1:24:21 > 1:24:23KNOCKING AT DOOR
1:24:28 > 1:24:29Hi, Bill.
1:24:29 > 1:24:32Oh, hello, darlin'. Great to see you.
1:24:34 > 1:24:38She never asked me nothing, she just listened.
1:24:45 > 1:24:47That was good therapy, aye.
1:25:09 > 1:25:13Great to see the finished thing, like, aye.
1:25:14 > 1:25:20There was quite a crowd there that day when they unveiled it, you know.
1:25:24 > 1:25:28- It was a sad time.- Yeah.
1:25:28 > 1:25:31Sue, it was easier to speak to you because it was yourself there,
1:25:31 > 1:25:35there was no bunches of people sitting around listening.
1:25:35 > 1:25:39Just us talking about it together and having good times.
1:25:39 > 1:25:43- Especially the talking about it.- Yes.
1:25:43 > 1:25:47- Because we did talk about it a lot, like.- We did.
1:25:47 > 1:25:48And how does it feel like
1:25:48 > 1:25:51when you're looking at the central figure?
1:25:51 > 1:25:54- Oh, yeah.- Yeah? Does it bring it all back to you?
1:25:54 > 1:25:56You could have given me a smaller nose!
1:25:56 > 1:25:59THEY LAUGH
1:26:06 > 1:26:10It just seemed such a waste of life, all those people.
1:26:12 > 1:26:14I went back out there again
1:26:14 > 1:26:18and worked back offshore for another 12 years after the Piper, I think.
1:26:20 > 1:26:23Maybe I laid the ghost to rest there.
1:26:27 > 1:26:29I've given up smoking cigars...
1:26:29 > 1:26:30for the time being.
1:26:35 > 1:26:38'In the North Sea...'
1:26:41 > 1:26:44HE LAUGHS
1:26:44 > 1:26:45Aye.
1:26:47 > 1:26:50Yes, I do recognise people here now.
1:26:52 > 1:26:57And there's me! My goodness, that's me there.
1:27:03 > 1:27:07Yes, sometimes I think about them
1:27:07 > 1:27:11and they're always the same age, they're always as they were.
1:27:11 > 1:27:15You can't imagine them getting old, you know?
1:27:15 > 1:27:20It's just...how you always knew them, like. And that was the case...
1:27:21 > 1:27:25They stay young in your mind while you grow old.
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