Incident Report Subject: 50 feared dead after Russian Oil Rig Collapse Date of Email report: Sun 18/12/2011 Report Detail:
The Kolskaya platform was being towed by an icebreaker and a tugboat to the island of Sakhalin at the time with 67 crew on board when it was caught in a bad storm. Emergency officials said the platform was pounded by waves up to 20 feet high that crashed through its portholes, sending water flooding into the crew's dining area. The rig quickly filled with seawater, capsized and sunk within 20 minutes with strong waves reportedly sweeping away the life rafts before the crew could disembark. Two of the rafts were later found empty. The temperature of the water was apparently zero degrees Celsius at the time with high winds making survival even harder. A helicopter was dispatched to airlift the crew off the stricken rig after receiving an SOS call. But by the time it got there the rig had already sunk and the crew were in the icy water Emergency officials said they had plucked 14 crew members from the freezing water and that the rescued men were in varying states of health. Four people were confirmed dead, they added, and a further 49 crew members were still missing and feared dead. An air and sea rescue operation was continuing last night despite the fact that night had fallen and weather conditions remained stormy. State prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into the tragedy to ascertain why the rig was being towed in such dangerous weather conditions. The rig was built in Finland in 1985 and had apparently suffered serious technical problems before Sunday's tragedy. Additional Documentation:
Irish TImes News Report: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1218/breaking4.html The Guardian Report: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/18/russia-oil-rig-collapse Huffington Post follow up article and video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/russia-sea-okhotsk-kolskaya_n_1160446.html
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