Death at sea: BBC commissions documentary on Piper Alpha disaster.

BBC television has commissioned a documentary to mark the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster.

Fire in the Night, which is based on a book written by Scotsman journalist Stephen McGinty, will be released in cinemas in the UK next year and will also be shown on BBC2 in July.

The 90-minute documentary, produced by STV Productions for BBC2, will feature first-hand accounts of events on the Piper Alpha rig on 6 July 1988 when 167 died.

Ewan Angus, commissioning editor for BBC Scotland, said: “Piper Alpha was a disaster which made a huge impact both on those personally involved in it at the time but also on those who watched those tragic events unfold on our TV screens all those years ago.”