20 years ago, 167 men lost their lives in the Piper Alpha tragedy. Today, at memorial services in Aberdeen and offshore, those men were remembered.

Relatives and survivors gathered at the Kirk of St Nicholas before attending a ceremony in Hazlehead park.

Gone but not forgotten - the names of all 167 men who died on Piper Alpha 20 years ago were read out at today's memorial service in Aberdeen.

Nearly 1,000 people, including survivors and relatives of those who died gathered at St Nicholas Kirk to pay tribute to those who lost their lives  and ensure their memory lives on.

Conducting the service, Reverend Andrew J Jolly said: "Here today, there must never be just numbers. There must never be anonymity, here  there must always be names with faces, stories to tell, stories of sacrifice, of love, of devotion, of faith, so that what has gone on before does not become just another statistic."
 
For many, the service was a chance  to remember lost friends and colleagues.

Piper Alpha Survivor Ed Punchard said: "come to acknowledge my lost friends, simple as that really, to remember them and also to see my friends who I worked offshore with, and all the families, and we all got very close, you know, after Piper, and it's very special after, in my case, 10 years, to come back and see them again."

Liz O'Neill, the daughter of victim, said: "Showing our respects to what they done, and to show that  they're still remembered. That is the biggest thing, so many times things happen and people forget.  Unless it affects you directly, people forget a few years down the line, and it is nice to think that the men are remembered."

To this day, Piper Alpha remains the world's worst offshore oil disaster - only 62 men survived the  explosion.

First Minister Alex Salmond says today should serve as both a memorial and a reminder.

He commented: "20 years on, there's a particular importance, and that is of course that it serves as some of the survivors have reminded us this  week, as a reminder that this sort of conflagration and disaster should never be allowed to happen again."

Later Mr Salmond joined others at a service in front of the disaster's monument in Hazlehead Park. Another service was held offshore on Piper Bravo near to where Piper Alpha once stood where a wreath was cast into the sea. All oil installations were asked to observe a minute's silence.