SOCAR: Search continues for 29 people missing after oil rig fire

Baku. 7 December, REPORT.AZ/ First vice-president of Azerbaijan’s state oil company (SOCAR) Khoshbakht Yusifzade has said search continues for 29 people missing after an offshore oil platform operated by the company caught fire in the Caspian Sea. The fire took place on the platform No 10 in Gunashli oil field.

“There were a total of 63 people on the platform at the time,” Yusifzade told a press conference. “For now 29 people are considered missing.”

Report informs, SOCAR vice-president Xaliq Mammadov said there were four 42-man boats on the platform. “Two boats were not used. Three people who were in the boat that fell into the sea were rescued. The body of one man was found.”

“A total of 11 helicopters are currently involved in the searches. On 5 December, helicopters made five unsuccessful attempts to land on the platform. It was possible only in the sixth attempt, and people who were in the boat were rescued,” he added.

Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations Etibar Mirzayev said “27 people were rescued from the boat and three from the platform itself by the helicopter”.

Relevant Azerbaijani authorities informed the coast guards of Iran and Turkmenistan of the search operation in the sea.