The BBC are reportedly working on a new factual drama series based on the Piper Alpha disaster.
The 1988 oil rig catastrophe, which occurred just off the coast of the North Sea, claimed the lives of 167 workers.
The drama comes 36 years after the incident, and is set to tell the story of the the rig’s final days.
The platform accounted for 10% of Aberdeen’s oil and gas production at the time.
News of the series was first shared by Deadline – a well known Hollywood industry magazine.
They say the project is in the “research phase” and is being drawn up by STV screenwriter James Wood.
BBC working on Piper Alpha project
The drama series would be based on new interviews, existing knowledge, the 1990 Cullen report and the Stephen McGinty book, Fire in the Night.
However, the show is “yet to go into production” and be “given the green light”.
Reports add the survivors and the relatives of those deceased are being consulted ahead of filming, and producers are taking “extreme care” regarding the project.
STV also made a BAFTA-winning documentary about the disaster, Piper Alpha: Fire In The Night, nine years ago.
BBC has been approached for comment and STV declined to comment.
What is the Piper Alpha disaster?
The Piper Alpha incident has often been described as the north-east’s darkest day.
A “perfect storm” of system failures and technical problems caused a catastrophic conflagration on July 6 1988 – which led to the death of 167
At 9.55pm, a huge blast rocked the platform, gas leaked out at high pressure, and six alarms were triggered, but not before the installation was ablaze.
When disaster struck, there were 226 men on Piper – 165 of them were killed along with two others from a standby vessel, the Sandhaven.
News emerged later that no evacuation order was given to staff.
Instead, they were instructed to make their way to lifeboat stations which flames stopped them from getting to.
Only 37 survivors were recovered.
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