The Alexander L Kielland disaster of 1980 was Norway’s worst industrial accident in its history. 22 British men out of more than 120 people lost their lives when a floating accommodation platform collapsed in the North Sea oil fields. The families of those who survived the ordeal, however, say they are still waiting for justice. The grieving families in Norway started the Kielland Network, a campaign set up to look for answers, and now some of them are opening up about their search for the truth.
Laura Fleming and Wayne Hunter’s fathers were two of the five men from Cleator Moor in Cumbria who died in the accident. Fleming says “I never say my dad died, he was killed. Disasters happen, but this one shouldn’t have done, it was entirely preventable.” The sentiment is shared by Hunter, who was only four when his father Keith passed away. He says that “It’s like a grave for us. It’s the only thing we’ve got. Being here, I do feel close to him.”
On 27 March 1980, the Kielland had 212 men on board, including 89 survivors of the accident. At about 18:30, in the middle of a storm, one of its five colossal legs broke off, causing the platform to tilt to thirty degrees and sent debris as well as the four-storey accommodation block on its deck flying. Six anchor cables snapped, and several of the lifeboats were either unable to be freed from their suspension hooks or smashed against the platform. The Kielland then flipped over after its last two cables broke, leading to the huge loss of life.
John Aird, one of the survivors of the disaster, vividly recalls that night. He was eating his dinner when the rig collapsed, and self-preservation instincts led him to retrieve one of the lifejackets from the accommodation block. After throwing all the life preservers in his reach to other men, he sw
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