53 dead or missing as rig sinks
Source: Agencies |
December 19, 2011, Monday
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An oil drilling platform capsized and sank amid fierce storms off Russia's east coast yesterday, plunging dozens of workers into the churning, icy waters. More than 50 people are believed dead or missing.
The Transportation Ministry said the Kolskaya platform started sinking after a strong wave broke some of its equipment and the portholes in the crew's dining room. One 5-meter wave washed away the platform's lifeboats, leaving the crew with no escape.
The Emergencies Ministry said 67 people had been on the platform as it was being towed about 200 kilometers off the coast of Sakhalin Island.
Fourteen people were rescued from the sea by the vessels that had been towing the platform, but further rescue efforts were hampered by the severe weather. A ministry spokeswoman said a rescue team had spotted four lifeless bodies in the water, and they had been retrieved.
A rescue craft and helicopters had been sent to the site to scour the waters for survivors, she said.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered all necessary help be allocated to the search and rescue of any remaining survivors in the icy waters, while the Emergencies Ministry said it would work through the night.
The disaster posed no ecological danger, but it will deal a blow to efforts by Russia, the world's largest energy producer, to step up offshore oil and gas exploration to offset a long-term production decline in onshore production.
"There is no ecological danger. The vessel was carrying the minimum amount of fuel as it was being towed by two craft," said a spokesman for AMNGR, a unit of state-owned Zarubezhneft.
A tugboat, also owned by AMNGR, that had been towing the Kolskaya rig took part in the search effort, but pulled out after suffering hull damage.
The tug, carrying 11 crew rescued from the rig, was limping to port. An icebreaker was still at the scene.
Most of the missing crew were from the far eastern town of Magadan, AMNGR said. The company, based in the northern port of Murmansk, flew out counsellors to support relatives.
The rig, built in Finland in 1985, had been doing work on a minor gas production project in the Sea of Okhotsk for a unit of state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom, the company said. It was being towed to the port city of Kholmsk on the western side of Sakhalin Island from the Kamchatka peninsula when it was hit by strong winds and high waves. It sank in 20 minutes into waters that are more than 1,000 metres deep.
Russia's prize offshore gas and oil fields lie to the northeast of Sakhalin Island.
The disaster is unlikely to seriously affect oil or gas production. AMNGR said the vessel was no longer under contract when it sank.
Winter often lasts 220-240 days in the waters off the island, where the main companies operating are ExxonMobil, Gazprom, and Royal Dutch Shell, which produce oil and gas for export largely to Asian markets.
The Transportation Ministry said the Kolskaya platform started sinking after a strong wave broke some of its equipment and the portholes in the crew's dining room. One 5-meter wave washed away the platform's lifeboats, leaving the crew with no escape.
The Emergencies Ministry said 67 people had been on the platform as it was being towed about 200 kilometers off the coast of Sakhalin Island.
Fourteen people were rescued from the sea by the vessels that had been towing the platform, but further rescue efforts were hampered by the severe weather. A ministry spokeswoman said a rescue team had spotted four lifeless bodies in the water, and they had been retrieved.
A rescue craft and helicopters had been sent to the site to scour the waters for survivors, she said.
President Dmitry Medvedev ordered all necessary help be allocated to the search and rescue of any remaining survivors in the icy waters, while the Emergencies Ministry said it would work through the night.
The disaster posed no ecological danger, but it will deal a blow to efforts by Russia, the world's largest energy producer, to step up offshore oil and gas exploration to offset a long-term production decline in onshore production.
"There is no ecological danger. The vessel was carrying the minimum amount of fuel as it was being towed by two craft," said a spokesman for AMNGR, a unit of state-owned Zarubezhneft.
A tugboat, also owned by AMNGR, that had been towing the Kolskaya rig took part in the search effort, but pulled out after suffering hull damage.
The tug, carrying 11 crew rescued from the rig, was limping to port. An icebreaker was still at the scene.
Most of the missing crew were from the far eastern town of Magadan, AMNGR said. The company, based in the northern port of Murmansk, flew out counsellors to support relatives.
The rig, built in Finland in 1985, had been doing work on a minor gas production project in the Sea of Okhotsk for a unit of state-controlled gas export monopoly Gazprom, the company said. It was being towed to the port city of Kholmsk on the western side of Sakhalin Island from the Kamchatka peninsula when it was hit by strong winds and high waves. It sank in 20 minutes into waters that are more than 1,000 metres deep.
Russia's prize offshore gas and oil fields lie to the northeast of Sakhalin Island.
The disaster is unlikely to seriously affect oil or gas production. AMNGR said the vessel was no longer under contract when it sank.
Winter often lasts 220-240 days in the waters off the island, where the main companies operating are ExxonMobil, Gazprom, and Royal Dutch Shell, which produce oil and gas for export largely to Asian markets.
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