LONDON (AFP) — A 23-year-old woman was due in court later on Monday in connection with the evacuation of a North Sea oil rig off Scotland following a telephoned warning of a suspicious device.
A Grampian Police spokesman confirmed to AFP that the woman, who was not named as per force policy, would be appearing before Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday.
At its height, the full-scale alert on Sunday, which turned out to be a false alarm, involved 13 Royal Air Force helicopters co-ordinated by a Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft from RAF Kinloss in northeast Scotland, the ministry of defence in London and officials at the base said.
Norwegian rescuers were also scrambled because of their proximity to the scene but were not needed, they said.
The alert was triggered by a call to police on the Scottish mainland at 9:30 am about the possibility of a suspicious device on the Safe Scandinavia, 175 miles off Aberdeen.
Grampian Police said that 96 workers were airlifted off the accommodation platform or "flotel" (floating hotel) before the operation was called off.
Britannia Operators Limited, who run the rig, said 161 people had been taken off.
Some 536 people on the Safe Scandinavia and 105 on an adjoining platform had all been due to be taken to other facilities as a precaution, Inspector Ian Swan from Grampian Police said.
"The downman (evacuation) occurred following allegations by a worker on the Safe Scandinavia that there was a possible suspicious device on the flotel," Britannia Operators Limited said in a statement on Sunday.
"A thorough search of the Safe Scandinavia has revealed nothing suspicious and it has now been deemed safe for workers to return to normal operations.
"The 161 workers who had been earlier flown to the neighbouring Alba and Armada platforms are now returning to the Safe Scandinavia."
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