Flames and smoke still leap from the oil platform Piper Alpha off northeast Scotland, Thursday, July 7, 1988, after the rig ...

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 explosion late Wednesday. The platform owned by the American oil company ...