FAMILIES OF BRITISH DIVERS KILLED IN NORTH SEA OIL BOOM SUE NORWAY
FAMILIES OF BRITISH DIVERS KILLED IN NORTH SEA OIL BOOM SUE NORWAY
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3613778.ece
Relatives of British deep-sea divers killed in the
The families of seven British divers — all of whom died between the 1960s and 1980s as the scramble for oil intensified in the
In a blow to Norway's international image as a champion of human rights, they claim that they have been forgotten by Oslo and that their loved ones died because of factors — including faulty equipment and excessive working hours — that were ultimately the responsibility of the Norwegian Government as owner of the oilfields.
The families also hope to join a class action lawsuit against the Government by 24 former divers who claim that they were treated as “human guinea-pigs” and sent to extreme and dangerous depths, sometimes as low as 1,300ft (396m), more than twice the current safety limit.
The court case has raised awkward questions about
The North Sea Divers Alliance (NSDA) has contacted relatives of seven of the 11 dead Britons, but are still seeking the remaining four.
Although the Norwegian Government has admitted political and moral responsibility for the “pioneer divers”, who worked in the
Tom Wingen, 54, spokesman for NSDA, said: “To apply for compensation you need a Norwegian identity number but most of the relatives of foreign divers were never given these.”
Among those seeking compensation is Ruth Crammond, 57, whose husband Bill was killed in November 1983 with four other divers, two of them British, on the Byford Dolphin oil rig.
Mrs Crammond, from
Clare Lucas, 32, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, whose father, Roy, was also killed in the Byford Dolphin accident, said: “I would go so far as to say that the Norwegian Government murdered my father because they knew that they were diving with an unsafe decompression chamber.”
The first witnesses of the case before Oslo City Court will be called today.