North Sea oil rig evacuated in security alert

February 10, 2008

An oil rig in the North Sea has been evacuated after a security alert. Up to 539 oil workers are being moved off the affected rig in an operation that began at 09:20 UTC this morning.

Barry Nielson, a Squadron leader with the RAF was quoted (BBC News) as saying "It's unusual, that's probably the best way to describe it. But it falls within our normal operating procedures and we are reacting accordingly."

By the end of the day, the alert had ended, with Kathy McGill (manging director of the firm responsible for the rig) being quoted as saying "We are very relieved that this has turned out to be a false alarm, but we obviously had to treat it seriously and act appropriately to ensure the safety and well being of all our people."