Five dead, dozens missing after Indian oil platform blaze

NEW DELHI, Thursday (AFP) Fire tore through an Indian offshore oil platform Wednesday killing at least five workers, leaving dozens unaccounted for, and forcing desperate employees to jump for their lives into the Arabian Sea.

Hundreds of workers on the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) platform were rescued, some clambering onto lifeboats while others scrambled to safety on another rig via a bridge.

"At least five people have died in the major fire at the oil platform in Mumbai High and the vessels carrying the rescued 336 personnel will reach Mumbai by tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon only," ONGC was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Earlier Indian Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said that 385 people were on the structure, located 160 kilometres (100 miles) west of India's commercial capital Mumbai, when it caught fire late on Wednesday afternoon.

"After the fire broke out there was panic on the platform and some employees... jumped into the sea," a coast guard official told PTI.

Rescuers in military powerboats were criss-crossing the choppy waters in search of bodies, while helicopters soared above the burning wreckage of the blazing oil platform, navy spokesman Captain Abhay Lambhate told AFP.

"We have moved in our entire Western Command (eight ships) and an oil tanker which is a complete hospital but conditions are bad with heavy swells, rains and top winds at ground zero," he said by telephone from Mumbai.

There was no official word on what caused the blaze, but some reports said that a mobile oil drilling rig had collided with the platform at high-tide.

Heavy monsoon rains have been wreaking havoc on land, disrupting transport and telecommunications.

"It is impossible to see if there has been any oil spillage in such conditions," said Lambhaste. The platform pumps oil from the Mumbai High field, which produces 38 percent of the country's crude, and is home to the country's biggest gas field, Bassein.

Aiyar confirmed that a major operation was under way to help find survivors at the stricken platform.

"All helicopters available are being deployed to save those alive," said the oil minister.

"A neighbouring rig has been instructed to reach the site and participate in rescue operations and all service vessels were asked to reach the site and help," he said.

Rescue teams included those specialised in dealing with burn victims, the minister added. The blaze eventually died because the platform collapsed, while search and rescue operations were continuing through the night.

Apart from the human casualties, the complete destruction of the oil platform was expected to cost India's oil supply dear.

"Tens of thousands of barrels of production loss per day is expected," said ONGC chairman Subir Raha.

ONGC is India's largest company by market capitalization at 32 billion dollars.

The company has extensive oil production and exploration operations abroad including in Sudan and Russia.

"We have not established the cause of accident as of now as there is heavy rains in Mumbai, and high swells in the sea, and the tide was high when the accident took place," Raha said.

"Our first priority is saving lives and second is controlling pollution," he added.