5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig, 1988 ($3.4 Billion).
The Piper Alpha disaster off the coast of Aberdeen is the world’sdeadliest ever oil rig accident. At that time Piper Alpha Oil is the largest oil producer in the world because it can produce 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technician made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 pm on the same day, a technician began pressing the button to move the liquid and most expensive gas pumps in the world, and started that terrible accident. Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.
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