In this episode of Great Disasters, I&apos;ll be looking at the Piper Alpha explosion; the deadliest off-shore oil rig disaster to date. There were more than two hundred men aboard Piper Alpha that summer night, 120 miles out in the midst of the North Sea. When the platform they called home exploded, they were thrown into a battle for survival between the flames and the waves. Drawing on official reports and the accounts of witnesses and survivors, I&apos;ll tell the full story of what went wrong. Visit <a href='http://www.greatdisasters.co.uk'>www.greatdisasters.co.uk</a> for the full transcript and more. Check out the Great Disasters Podcast on <a href='https://www.facebook.com/greatdisasterspodcast/'>Facebook</a>, <a href='https://twitter.com/great_disasters'>Twitter</a>, and <a href='https://www.instagram.com/greatdisasterspodcast/'>Instagram</a> - let me know what you think of the show.<a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/greatdisasters">Support the show</a>

The de Havilland Comet

Whether natural or man-made, disasters attract a strange mixture of horror and fascination. However, the spectacle of devastation is only ever one part of the story. Take a closer look, and you will find tales of extraordinary human endurance and heroism, stories that veer from the horrific to the oddly humorous, and lessons that can be learned to make our world safer.&nbsp;From the Titanic to the Costa Concordia, the Station nightclub fire to the Pulse nightclub shooting, these extraordinary events – and the people involved – are examined on the Great Disasters podcast, written, researched, recorded and produced by me, Kari Fay.&nbsp;From official reports, first-person accounts, and contemporary media, I delve into the often-appalling details of these events to bring you the full story.