Oil rig worker's 'dream' sparked bomb alert

A massive operation to evacuate a North Sea oilrig may have been triggered by a female worker's nightmare, it emerged last night.

The 23-year-old is said to have dreamt there was a bomb on board the accommodation platform where she was sleeping. That led to the alarm being raised and efforts made to airlift nearly 650 people to safety.



At the height of the drama, a total of 14 civilian and military helicopters, along with two other RAF aircraft, had been scrambled or were involved in the incident.

It is thought the evacuation operation, the biggest in the history of the North Sea, cost up to £4 million, including an estimated £3 million of losses suffered by the oil company Britannia, which was forced to suspend production.