The oil industry’s worst nightmare came true on July 6, 1988. The Piper Alpha oil platform suffered a catastrophic explosion, leaving most workers trapped in an inferno at sea. This disaster led ...

Smoke rises from the wrecked oil platform Piper Alpha, foreground, in the North Sea, Thursday, July 7, 1988, following an ...

In July 1988, a fire breaks out on a vast oil rig in the North Sea, trapping Joe Meanen.

Thick smoke and flames rise from the remains of the Piper Alpha oil platform ... Most of the platform fell into the sea after a massive explosion and fire ripped through it on July 6, killing ...