London - Some 159 people on Sunday morning were being evacuated after a fire on an oil platform in the North Sea, the BBC reported. A "very serious" fire had broken out at 0830 GMT on the Thistle Alpha platform, some 190 kilometres north-east of Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands.
Eight rescue helicopters were at the scene to take people to safety, it was said.
Forty-four people had already been airlifted to safety, while no casualties had been reported so far, a spokesman for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Kinloss said.
"We are conducting a de-manning of all non-essential personnel due to a fire on board the rig," a coastguard spokesman said.
The crews were being airlifted to three neighbouring platforms by helicopters from the RAF, coastguard and other rigs in the area as well as several Norwegian helicopters.
The platform is operated by Swedish-based Lundin Petroleum, which is involved in worldwide oil exploration and production.
A Petrofac spokeswoman confirmed on behalf of Lundin Britain that it was "currently investigating an incident involving this installation."
Petrofac is an international service provider to the oil and gas industry.
"As a precautionary measure the appropriate emergency procedures have been activated and the relevant authorities have been notified," the spokeswoman added.
Eight rescue helicopters were at the scene to take people to safety, it was said.
Forty-four people had already been airlifted to safety, while no casualties had been reported so far, a spokesman for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Kinloss said.
"We are conducting a de-manning of all non-essential personnel due to a fire on board the rig," a coastguard spokesman said.
The crews were being airlifted to three neighbouring platforms by helicopters from the RAF, coastguard and other rigs in the area as well as several Norwegian helicopters.
The platform is operated by Swedish-based Lundin Petroleum, which is involved in worldwide oil exploration and production.
A Petrofac spokeswoman confirmed on behalf of Lundin Britain that it was "currently investigating an incident involving this installation."
Petrofac is an international service provider to the oil and gas industry.
"As a precautionary measure the appropriate emergency procedures have been activated and the relevant authorities have been notified," the spokeswoman added.
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