Those of us who saved, rescued and investigated / Vi som reddet, berget og etterforsket

This book is part of a collection of five works on memories from the Alexander L. Kielland oil platform disaster in 1980.  The book includes memories of those who were in some way involved in the rescue operation without being among the survivors of the accident. When we phrase ourselves in this way, it is an acknowledgment of the survivors themselves playing a crucial role in the rescue. Many of those who survived the accident did so thanks to the efforts of others who were part of the accident. Some of those helpers survived and others died. The memories of the survivors are included in another publication in the series of memories after the accident.

The rescue operation after the accident involved all North Sea nations. The focus of this collection is on memories from Norway. However, we wish to acknowledge the importance of rescue workers from other nations as well and hope that we will also be able to include their memories in future editions.

The memories are from interviews conducted by the listed authors with those involved in the rescue operation. The interviewees have all read the interview transcripts, have sometimes altered them and made additions, and in a few cases have rewritten them to such an extent that they themselves are listed as authors.

An included list of references is a selection of archival sources as well as published sources related to the memories in this collection. More substantial bibliographies, as well as lists of archival sources, are included in Smith-Solbakken (2016) and in Smith-Solbakken and Weihe (2019). Further specialized publications focus on subjects such as post-traumatic stress disorders (Smith-Solbakken and Weihe, 2018) and grief (Weihe and Smith-Solbakken, 2012), and include additional bibliographies. 

First edition was published 27th of May 2019. Last update: 9th of March 2023. (Minor correction 5th of February 2024)

English edition added 14th of December 2023.