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Piper Alpha Monopoly edition '˜callous', say tragedy victims

Victims of the Piper Alpha tragedy have slammed the 'callous' decision to turn the North Sea oil rig disaster into a Monopoly game.
By The Newsroom
Published 5th Apr 2018, 09:27 GMT
Updated 5th Apr 2018, 10:29 GMT

The classic board game has been reinvented with a North Sea theme to raise money for the upkeep of Aberdeen’s Piper Alpha memorial.

But relatives and co-workers of the 167 people who lost their lives in the 1988 inferno are outraged by the 30-year-anniversary edition version of Monopoly.

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Roy Carey, 75, worked on the platform and was forced to jump into the sea to escape the platform blaze.

A Piper Alpha Monopoly edition is to be released. The 1988 fire on the platform claimed 167 lives. Picture: TSPLA Piper Alpha Monopoly edition is to be released. The 1988 fire on the platform claimed 167 lives. Picture: TSPL
A Piper Alpha Monopoly edition is to be released. The 1988 fire on the platform claimed 167 lives. Picture: TSPL
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Fire in the Night: The Piper Alpha Disaster

He told The Sun: “This is inappropriate. It seems callous considering there are families out there who lost fathers and sons.

“I was on the rig and this is not a something I’d ever want to see.


“They’ve made a game out of something extremely serious.”

The aftermath of the North Sea Piper Alpha oil rig off the coast of Aberdeen in Scotland after it caught fire on 6 July, 1988. Picture: TSPLThe aftermath of the North Sea Piper Alpha oil rig off the coast of Aberdeen in Scotland after it caught fire on 6 July, 1988. Picture: TSPL
The aftermath of the North Sea Piper Alpha oil rig off the coast of Aberdeen in Scotland after it caught fire on 6 July, 1988. Picture: TSPL

The board is sponsored by a range of companies, including oil giant Shell and is energy-themed, with the Brent platforms substituted for the four train station squares. The chance and community chest cards have become “drilling” and “completions” cards.

Ian Reid, 71, from West Lothian lost his brother Donald in the disaster, “It’s taking away the seriousness of what happened,” Mr Reid said.

Campaigners at 167 Souls fundraising group and Pound for Piper charity helped create the game. Their aim is to ensure the upkeep of the Piper Alpha Memorial gardens in Aberdeen which rely on charitable donations.

The campaigners behind the game are looking to raise funds to maintain the Piper Alpha memorial garden.The campaigners behind the game are looking to raise funds to maintain the Piper Alpha memorial garden.
The campaigners behind the game are looking to raise funds to maintain the Piper Alpha memorial garden.

So far the game has raised over £17,000 of the £30,000 target through a JustGiving page.

Kenny Dooley of PR firm C-Growth came up with idea and insisted no offence was intended, telling The Sun, “I think some people have misunderstood what it means.”

He vowed to redesign the board and call it Oil and Gas monopoly.