Rescue Helicopters Sent to Scots Oil Rigs 340 Times in Last Three Years

Taxpayers forked out to send rescue helicopters to oil rigs 340 times in three years, stats reveal.

The estimated £3million cost of North Sea emergencies — around £10,000 a trip — is not recouped from offshore industry firms, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed.

The MCA carried out 92 medical evacuations between January and September last year, 109 in 2017 and 139 in 2016, freedom of information data shows.

It comes as a worker was airlifted from a rig 83 miles east of Sumburgh, Shetland, on Friday.

A foreman on a platform has insisted offshore workers get vital peace of mind knowing choppers can be sent from bases at Sumburgh, Inverness, Humberside and Caernarfon in Wales.

The dad, 38, from Glasgow, said: “Sometimes the nature of an incident is such that the person can only be treated on shore.

“Knowing that a helicopter is only a call away is a huge psychological help for us.”

Operator Bristow runs the 10-year MCA heli contract — worth £1.6billion.

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