BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — One oil worker has been reported killed and nine more are missing in Azerbaijan after part of their offshore oil installation broke off in strong winds Thursday.
Oil industry workers' rights activist Mirvari Gahramanli said one body was retrieved from the Caspian Sea during searches following the accident early Thursday morning and the search for the others was continuing.
The state oil company, known as SOCAR, reported that a 150-meter (490-foot) section of walkway fell into the sea amid 90 mph (145 kph) winds and said 10 workers were missing. It has not confirmed the death.
The company said five of the victims had been working on the installation and another five were in a cabin that was torn off the structure.
Azerbaijan's Emergencies Ministry has sent two ships to the Caspian Sea platform to search for the workers.
The accident comes just over a year after the worst accident in the history of Azerbaijan's oil industry, when a fire and lifeboat sinking on the Guneshli oil platform left 30 workers either confirmed dead or lost without a trace.