Thousands raised for family of British man Robert Robson who died on Qatar oil rig

Hundreds of people have helped raise almost £25,000 to help the family of a man who died following an incident on a Qatari oil rig.

Robert Robson, of Tyne and Wear, was working on the Seafox Burj oil rig off the coast of the Middle Eastern country when he died following the incident in the early hours of Monday 12 December.

Following his death, friends and members of the off-shore oil community have been raising money to help his partner Kristie Graham and his family.

More than 700 people have donated to the fund, which is aimed at helping Mr Robson’s family and has raised about £23,900.

Friends have paid tribute to the father, who was described as “an absolute gem” who had a “smile for everyone”.

Following his death, his family said in a statement: "Robbie was an amazing, one-of-a-kind, beautiful soul.

"He was a loving partner, dad, son, brother and uncle who was tragically taken too soon.He was an irreplaceable friend to many, and Robbie will be sorely missed by everyone that knew him."

Mr Robson was working for an underwater inspection company Film-Ocean when there was an incident reported just before 2am on Monday 12 December.

The company said the incident, which injured a second person, was not work-related. A third person was taken into police custody.

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