On July 6th, 1988, workers clock in to a typical night shift aboard Piper Alpha, the world’s largest offshore oil rig, in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. Then, around 10 p.m., a series of mistakes leads to a gas leak and explosion. Soon, 226 men find themselves trapped on the burning platform, in what will become one of the deadliest man-made disast ... Show More
Aug 2024
Piper Alpha: Oil Rig Disaster | Inferno | 2
<p>After an explosion rocks the Piper Alpha oil rig, a huge, smoky fire begins to spread, taking down the rig’s power supply and communications equipment. Workers hurry to their evacuation stations, and a state-of-the-art rescue ship, the Tharos, moves into position to battle the ... Show More
39m 8s
Sep 2024
Piper Alpha: Oil Rig Disaster | Collapse | 4
At 10:52pm, Piper Alpha is hit by the biggest explosion yet. Soon, the rig begins to break apart and tumble into the ocean, dooming the men still trapped inside. Meanwhile, rescuers like Z-boat commander James McNeill risk their lives to pull men from the debris-strewn water bene ... Show More
45m 34s
Nov 2025
Deepwater Horizon | The Summer of Tears | 3
When the Deepwater Horizon explodes on April 20, 2010, 11 men are killed, while the rest of the crew tries to escape the burning rig. In the days that follow, vast quantities of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico. As the spill spreads, coastal communities struggle to deal with the ... Show More
36m 19s
Nov 2025
Deepwater Horizon, Part 2: BP’s Disaster
On April 20, 2010, the crew aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig was in the final stages of sealing up an exploratory well off the coast of Louisiana. It should have been a routine procedure, but something went horribly wrong. By the next morning, Deepwater was sinking to the bot ... Show More
37m 35s
Nov 2025
Deepwater Horizon, Part 1: “Operate to Failure”
In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and leading to the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. But for Deepwater’s operator, BP, it was just the latest in a series of accidents, spills, and other mishaps that all poi ... Show More
39m 47s