Piper Alpha remembrance: Sea King to do fly past

The Piper Alpha disaster killed 167 people. Picture: PA

A SEA King search and rescue helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth will carry out a fly past in the skies above Aberdeen to mark the opening of the remembrance service on the 25th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, it was announced today.

The service of remembrance to mark the deaths of 167 oilmen in the world’s worst offshore catastrophe is being held on Saturday at the Piper Alpha Memorial Garden in the city’s Hazlehead Park.

The ceremony will be led by the Reverend Gordon Craig, chaplain to the UK oil and gas industry, and will include a roll call of those lost in the tragedy, read out by representatives of the offshore workforce.

The service will also include addresses by Councillor George Adam, the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, and Geoff Holmes, chief executive of Talisman Sinopec Energy UK, the company which now operates the Piper field.

During the service wreaths will be laid at the recently refurbished gardens by the Lord Provost, Mr Holmes, families and friends of victims, and representative of the Pound for Piper Memorial Trust.