At least 12 people were killed and another 15 missing after a fire destroyed an oil platform off India`s west coast on Wednesday.

Some people jumped into lifeboats to escape the flames and get to platforms nearby after fire broke out at about 4:30 pm (1100 GMT), said India’s Oil and Petroleum Minister. As many as 351 people have been rescued, some with minor injuries. The platform produces about a seventh of the country's oil.

A nearby support vessel in the Bombay High offshore oil field was also on fire and a chartered rig deployed in the vicinity had been abandoned, platform owner Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) said. The platform stands about 160 km (100 miles) offshore southwest of India`s financial hub, Mumbai, where heavy rains and severe flooding had already stretched emergency services. "The platform has been completely destroyed," the Oil and Petroleum Minister told a news conference in New Delhi.

Initial reports indicated the fire may have started when a drilling vessel was swept into the platform by high monsoon winds, a government source said. "It is too early to say what was the cause of the fire but we have been able to rescue most of the people," the Oil and Petroleum Minister said. About 225 people were working on the platform, and a total of 341 people had been rescued from there, the support vessel and neighbouring rigs, ONGCofficials said. "There were high swirls in the sea. High tides were due at around 4.30 pm and that was also around the time the accident happened," said ONGC Chairman.

Rescue operations were hampered as ONGC`s helicopters in Mumbai were grounded because of floods and the few that were available faced rough sea and poor visibility. "The choppy seas are certainly affecting the rescue efforts but we hope to get some Air Force helicopters over the area tomorrow morning when we should be able to pick up the remaining survivors," a Coast Guard official said. The destroyed platform produced 100,000 barrels per day, out of a total Bombay High production of 260,000 barrels per day. ONGC engineers live on the platform, which is connected to 15 oil wells and pumps oil to the coast. It is fixed to the seabed 80 metres below the surface of the Arabian Sea.

The Oil and Petroleum Minister said it would take several months for production to return to normal, though other platforms in the field continued to function normally. Platforms tend to be 2-3 km apart. An ONGC official said that an oil spill was unlikely as a result of the fire because the systems would have automatically shut down.