Seven helicopters airlifted workers from a burning North Sea oil rig amid high winds northwest of Scotland Sunday, UPI reported. More than half of the 159 people on the remote Thistle Alpha platform had been airlifted to neighboring platforms several miles away, CNN reported. The burning rig is about 227 miles northwest of Aberdeen - "just about as remote as it gets," said British Royal Air Force spokesman Michael Mulford. The helicopters and one Nimrod aircraft flew from Norway, RAF stations, British Coast Guard stations, and other oil rigs to assist in the evacuation, Mulford told ITN. "We are very lucky that we have three neighboring platforms within 5 or 6 miles and in that sort of distance we will be able to land an refuel," Mulford said, noting there were no reports of casualties.
