 | AoS update: downgraded to 'Local' because it was a hoax. |
An oil rig in the North Sea issued a security alert Sunday and authorities sent helicopters to evacuate more than 500 workers, the Ministry of Defense said. The cause of the alert was not immediately known. But British media reported the helicopters were carrying a bomb disposal unit to examine an explosive device that had been found on the rig about 170 miles off the city of Aberdeen in eastern Scotland.
Sky News quoted unidentified sources as saying that a woman aboard the rig had come under suspicion in connection with the explosive device.
The British Broadcasting Corp. said 14 Royal Air Force and coast guard helicopters were being sent to the Safe Scandinavia rig and that its evacuation of its 539 occupants had begun. |