Alexander Kielland: Cleator Moor family still looking for answers 43 years after disaster

  • Watch the full video report into the collapse of the Keilland oil rig.

A man is still looking for answers from the Norwegian government 43 years after the death of his father in what was the country's deadliest industrial accident.

The Alexander Kielland disaster claimed the lives of 123 workers in March 1980.

Among those to die was Keith Hunter, who was one of five men from Cleator Moor, in Cumbria, to be killed.

His son, Wayne Hunter is heading out to Norway on Thursday 31 August on behalf of the five families.

Wayne said: "The oil rig capsized and 123 men lost their lives. It has haunted me really from a young age. The thought of the rig going down into the water and what happened -there are still many unanswered questions.

Keith Hunter was killed in the disaster. Credit: ITV

"I was four-years-old when I lost my dad. I grew into grief really. There was a group of Norwegians that came over last September from the Norwegian network. It just opened a can of worms. Really, I just started grieving properly last September.

“We are hoping for a new public enquiry and we go there with the backing of MPs and the government to put pressure on the Norwegian government."

Kian Reme, from the Kielland Network,  which represents families and survivors of the disaster, explained more about the initial inquiry.

He said: "One of the great weaknesses after the disaster was that the inquiry was not sufficient enough. The Norwegian commission settled on one triggering cause which was bad welding in one of the braces.

"The French concluded differently and said that the rig was not operated correctly. That report came in 1985 and at that time nobody was asking more questions about the causes of the accident. In the latest five or six years there has been quite a lot of new information that has emerged.

"Documents that have been concealed and hidden are now being made public. We want to know as much as possible about what happened.”

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