Oil Rig Fire in the Caspian Sea

At Least 32 Dead in Worst Offshore Disaster since Piper Alpha.

Oil and Gas People has learned that at least 32 People are dead in what has been hailed one of the worst offshore disasters since Piper Alpha.

The incident in the Caspian Sea 5 December 2015 happened on Platform 10 on the Guneshli field offshore Azerbaijan. It is believed severe weather ruptured a gas line causing an explosion and huge fire that engulfed the platform.

Rescue was hindered due to 8m waves and strong winds. Just a few hours after the incident and people trapped in lifeboats blown against the platform. Very little information has been released.

An Independent committee has issued a statement saying that they believe at least 32 people have died whilst 42 workers were rescued. Mirvari Gakhramanly, head of Azerbaijan’s Oil Workers Rights Protection Committee also confirmed the platform fire has finally been extinguished.

Rescue vessels struggled to get close to the burning platform.

SOCAR have issued three emergency response numbers.

SOCAR said on its Facebook page on Saturday that 26 workers had been rescued from the platform. It did not give details on whether there had been any deaths or how many people were initially on the platform.

The tragic incident follows another incident on another platform earlier in the day. In that incident an accommodation module is reported to have collapsed to sea and it is believed 3 people have been killed.

source: Oil & Gas People