Families of the dead in the accident of oil platforms 45 years ago welcomed a new report that supports their claims that their justice was denied them.
The Alexander Kielland platform was used as a accommodation block when it overturned in the Norwegian North Sea during the 1980 Storm, killing 123 people, including 22 from the United Kingdom.
The Study of the University of Stavanger is They concluded that the authorities betrayed the survivors and the victims’ familieswhich is why the Norwegian government had previously apologized.
Laura Fleming, whose Among the killed was Father MichaelHe said the report should help to come to the truth about what happened.
Mr Fleming, 37, was one of five men from Cleator Moor, in Cumbria, who were killed when a floating platform overturned about 200 miles (322 km) from Norway’s coast on March 27, 1980.
His daughter Laura, who is part of Kielland’s family network, said that “shocking truth” about what happened only recently revealed and that she still has many questions.
The Study of the University of Stavanger He concluded that the Norwegian authorities gave the advantage of the protection of the reputation of the lucrative oil industry in relation to the complete research of the causes of disaster.
They said that more complex factors were included than the simple to cut off their legs on the four -year platform, for which French manufacturers were blamed.
Mrs. Fleming, who lives in Durham, said that after the family’s disaster were “pressed” to accept the settlement without “without the explanation that the platform sank” and “the door of power firmly closed to all questions.”
“The Norwegian government has made a conscious decision not to do what would naturally and reasonably come from after the accident,” Ms. Fleming said, adding that she did not want to conduct a complete investigation because it could affect the industry that secured “wealth and prosperity.”
The Norwegian government had previously apologized for failures in her investigations, but in 2021 she concluded that a new investigation would not bring anything new.
Mrs. Fleming said she was “grateful for a” important “new studio, adding that she could” help discover the truth “.
