A GAS LEAK sparked a major evacuation and shut down of a North Sea oil rig.
The gas detection alarm was sounded on Friday morning on Shell’s Brent Charlie platform, 115 miles north-east of Shetland.
The oil giants said all 176 people on board have been accounted for and a total of 31 non-essential workers were being evacuated from the platform as a precaution.
A Shell spokeswoman said: “Following a gas detection alarm, production was shut down and the platform called to muster. The source of the leak has been safely detected and isolated and a full investigation into the cause will be completed.