Fire kills 32 oil workers in Caspian Sea

At least 32 workers have been killed in a blaze at an offshore oil platform in Azerbaijan-controlled waters in the Caspian Sea, Reuters reported.

SOCAR said that as a result of the storm, a booth on base #501 got washed out to the sea at approximately 12:30 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours), Dec.4.

In a telephone call from the oil platform, a worker told Reuters news agency that 84 workers were trapped. It did not give details on whether there had been deaths or how many people were initially on the platform.

The SOCAR press release says that a residential booth, standing on the pier at the Neft Dashlari with three workers inside was blown into the sea by a strong wind.

Socar is a wholly state-owned national oil company headquartered in the Azerbaijan capital Baku.

According to earlier media reports, more than 42 workers have already been rescued. The three oil workers are still missing.

SOCAR also said on Friday that workers were missing after an accident at another offshore oil platform during the storm.

The bulk of Azerbaijan’s oil is produced elsewhere, however, including on fields operated by British oil major BP.