The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_Alpha" id="mwAVU" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="Piper Alpha">Piper Alpha</a> drilling platform in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea" id="mwAVY" rel="mw:WikiLink" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.