One offshore worker has been killed and nine are missing after an accident offshore Azerbaijan when a part of an oil installation collapsed due to strong winds.
The country’s state-owned oil company Socar said the accident happened in the Caspian Sea on the morning of December 15, 2016. The accident was on the territory of oil gathering station No 3 of Socar’s Azneft Oil & Gas Production Division.
Socar said that 150 meters of the scaffold bridge, located on the right and left sides of the oil gathering station, has fallen as a result of strong wind with speed of 41 m/s, at 5 am on Thursday.
A preliminary report by Socar stated that ten workers were missing, however, the company said later today that one body was retrieved in search and rescue operations while nine are still missing.
The oil company also named the five duty holders and five oilmen missing after the incident. Among the missing are: Zülfüqarov Güloglan, Zülfüqarov Azay, Qurbanov Vidadi, Həsənov Elçin, Hacıəliyev Həsənağa, Qafarov İlham, Əsədov Samir, Bəhrəmov Cavid, Abbasov Ramiz, Rüstəmov Qorxmaz.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing and a special commission was formed to investigate the incident.
According to a statement on Thursday from the office of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev , the search and rescue operation involves a helicopter and ships of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Socar’s employees, and ships of the Caspian Shipping Company.
This is not the first time for a fatal accident to happen in Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea. Last December, the country was hit by two separate offshore accident that had fatal consequences for a number of offshore workers.
Furthermore, another incident happened in the Caspian Sea in September this year after an offshore platform caught fire.
The article has been updated to include new information made available by Socar.
Offshore Energy Today Staff