CCTV shows the moment a large piece of metal pipework fell while two men were decommissioning a North Sea gas rig. 

Stephen Picken was cutting the rig with a colleague from a cherry picker in Great Yarmouth outer harbour when the metal fell and struck the platform, catapulting the men off. 

Mr Picken, from Stoke-on-Trent, who specialised in cutting metal with oxy-propane equipment and was described as “the best in the country”, died at the scene while his colleague Mark Kumar survived but suffered life-changing injuries. 

The collapsed pipe and cherry pickerThe collapsed pipe and cherry picker (Image: Health and Safety Executive) The site in Great Yarmouth outer harbourThe site at Great Yarmouth outer harbour (Image: Health and Safety Executive)

Veolia Environmental Services (UK) Ltd, which employed the two men, admitted failing to ensure their health and safety at work. 

The incident happened on the morning of October 17, 2019, when Mr Picken was dismantling part of an oil rig. 

A metal column toppled to the ground, hitting the platform on the way, and throwing the men to the ground from 40ft to 45ft up. 

At a sentencing hearing at Ipswich Crown Court, Judge Martyn Levett said: "It was a foreseeable accident that could have been avoided." 

There were several failings which fell far short of the standards recognised in the decommissioning industry, he said. 

Previously, the court heard that no cutting plans had been produced for the work being undertaken to show where, how and what angle to make cuts during the demolition. 

The judge fined Veolia £3m and ordered it to pay costs of £60,000. 

After the hearing, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector David King said: “This incident, in an emerging industry, highlights the level of controls required to safely demolish what are large, dangerous structures.  

“Veolia did not meet these standards and tragically one life was lost and another forever changed. 

“The Health and Safety Executive’s mission is to protect people and places.  

“Organisations that endanger their employees by failing to meet the required standards, should be aware that we will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action.”