Workers Rescued from Oil Platform Fire in Caspian Sea

Forty two workers have been rescued from an offshore oil platform that caught fire in Azerbaijan's sector of the Caspian Sea, Azeri independent TV ANS said on Friday.

Azeri state energy company SOCAR was not immediately available to comment.

SOCAR said earlier that the fire started after a gas pipeline on the platform was damaged in heavy wind. It said the rescue attempt was being complicated by a heavy storm.

One of the workers called a Reuters correspondent from the platform and said there were 84 people trapped. The worker did not want to be named.

SOCAR also said earlier that workers were missing after an accident at another offshore oil platform during the storm. A search-and-rescue operation was underway, it added.

Fourteen workers were killed in accidents on SOCAR's oil and gas platforms in 2014.


(Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Mark Potter)