COPENHAGEN — We've all seen photos of offshore oil rig disasters, think Deepwater Horizon and Piper Alpha, and thought I'm glad I wasn't on that when it blew.

Well, now you may think differently thanks to a huge 81m tall evacuation chute that just been given approval for use on oil rigs.

The record-breaking new escape chute, manufactured by Danish company Viking Life-Saving, is designed for oil rigs measuring up to 81m, or about the same height as the Statue of Liberty.

In the event of an emergency, the chute automatically drops down to the level of the water, where a life raft inflates ready for the evacuees.

The workers then slide down the chute one by one, before gathering in the life raft, where they can float away and wait to be rescued.

The new chute is capable of evacuating 146 people in just ten minutes.

The manufacturer says the new chutes are in response to the ever increasing heights of new rigs, that mean escape boats are no longer viable.

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