On the evening of 6 July 1988, Joe Meanen was watching a film in the cinema of the Piper Alpha platform when a catastrophic explosion rocked the structure. The non-operational gas pump, missing a safety valve during upgrades, had been activated in error and ignited. The blast destroyed the main control room, cutting off alarms and public address systems.
As the platform began to melt and disintegrate, Meanen and around 100 other men sought refuge in the galley, a designated safe area with fireproofing and positive airflow. But with windows breaking and smoke intensifying, Meanen decided to move to the helideck. Six men remained in the galley, later found to have fallen 475ft to the seabed when the structure collapsed.
On the helideck, engulfed in thick black smoke and with the rig buckling, Meanen faced a desperate choice. He jumped 175ft into the North Sea, a fall lasting about six seconds. “What the fuck have I done?” he thought. He survived, but 167 of the 228 men on board died, along with two rescue crew members. His two roommates, including expectant father David Campbell, did not make it.
