A fire on a North Sea oil platform led to the evacuation of 118 workers. The fire broke out on the Thistle Alpha platform, 325 miles north of Aberdeen and only five miles inside the UK search and rescue area. Seven helicopters, including two from Norway, and a Nimrod from RAF Kinloss were sent to the rig. The majority of the workers were airlifted to other facilities nearby, but 41 essential staff were left on the platform while firefighters tackled the blaze. The fire in the turbine area of the rig caused a full-scale emergency in poor weather conditions but was quickly brought under control. The workers who were flown to the Murchison and Dunlin platforms as a precautionary measure were later taken back to the facility. There were no casualties.