The news wire reported soon later that a fire struck a second platform due to the storm and that 42 workers had been rescued, although others at that time remained trapped on the platform. Bad weather conditions complicate the work of the emergency services.
Advertisement
“The fire in the gas pipeline has not been completely extinguished and it has not been ruled out that it could spread to oil and gas wells near the platform”, it said.
The search and rescue mission continues.
The ignition started on December 4 at the platform No. 10 of this field, where the Azerbaijani SOCAR company produces oil and gas through its own funds.
Azerbaijan’s state prosecutor’s office said the person had died Friday night when the lifeboat he was in with three others was hit by heavy winds. REUTERS TV / Reuters The staff evacuated the platform, stepping in to two lifeboats, which have been then lowered to 10 meters above the water, the assertion stated. The result was a fire that still continued on Saturday.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree to create a special commission to deal with the accident and control the rescue operation.
The Guneshli deposits were discovered in 1981 in the south Caspian Sea, some 90 kilometres east of the Azeri capital Baku.
The deepwater Guneshli section of the project began oil production in 2008.
Advertisement
SOCAR eventually confirmed people were missing, but put the number at 30. Local reports said the incident occurred in the Oil Rocks field.
