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Piper Alpha : An Sgail (Piper Alpha : Under the Shadow)

Episode 7 of 14

Deich air fhichead bliadhna as a dh猫idh tha Piper Alpha fhathast a鈥� toirt m貌r bhuaidh air dhaoine. Thirty years on, the magnitude of the Piper Alpha disaster continues to shock.

Deich air fhichead bliadhna as d猫idh Piper Alpha tha teaghlaichean an fheadhainn a bha air an call, agus an fheadhainn a fhuair 脿s lem beatha, fhathast air an glacadh le uabhas mu na thachair dhaibh. Th脿inig athair Iona Ballantyne, Bob, dhachaigh an oidhche sin ach bha a鈥� bheatha aige air atharrachadh gu tur. Tha Iona a-nise airson a鈥� bhuaidh a bh鈥� aig Piper Alpha air na teaghlaichean, i fh猫in nam measg, a thoirt gu aire dhaoine.

Bha na bliadhnaichean a th脿inig as d猫idh Piper cruaidh air an fheadhainn a fhuair 脿s le am beatha. Bha gu le貌r a thug bliadhnaichean a鈥� fulang 鈥� gun bruidhinn air na thachair dhaibh air an oidhche sin. San rannsachadh a chaidh a dh猫anamh air buaidh Piper, le cuideachadh bho t貌rr den fheadhainn a fhuair 脿s be貌, bha na lorg iad gam f脿gail gu l脿idir dhen bheachd gun robh na bha iad fh猫in agus cuideachd na teaghlaichean aca air a dhol troimhe aithnichte mar PTSD 鈥� post traumatic stress disorder.

Bha buaidh Piper ri fhaireachdainn fad is farsaing 鈥� le na fir a bha oirre bho air feadh na d霉thcha. 鈥橲 e an aon rud a tha tarraing nan teaghlaichean sin ri ch猫ile 鈥� oillt Piper.

Thirty years on, the scale and magnitude of the Piper Alpha disaster 鈥� the world鈥檚 worst offshore oil disaster 鈥� continues to shock. The adjustment for those families whose loved ones did survive was as great as those who were bereaved, with the physical and psychological changes in survivors now recognised as symptomatic of PTSD 鈥� post traumatic stress disorder.

A well-known spokesman for survivors and their families was the late Bob Ballantyne, whose own family life was fundamentally changed following the tragedy, as he devoted his remaining years to supporting the families of victims. A delayed response to grief was felt strongly by his daughter Iona years after his death through cancer. When watching footage of the burning oil rig, she finally felt the impact of her loss and understood the difficulties her father faced during his years living as a survivor.

To understand and process her own thoughts and loss she visits other families, who like her, were direct witnesses to the consequences of the disaster and the changes it forced upon them.

59 minutes

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Role Contributor
Presenter Iona Ballantyne

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