BRAZIL (16 Mar 2001) -- The world's largest offshore oil rig is threatening to sink into the ocean spilling crude and diesel oil a day after an explosion that reportedly killed 10 people. Three powerful blasts rocked the 40-story rig, which is owned by Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras. The blasts killed one, severely burned another and nine of the 175 workers aboard are missing and believed dead. It was not clear what caused the blasts at the rig, which is located in the Campos Basin, 78 miles offhore. But damage to one of the rig's hulls threatened to sink it. "If the degree of listing increases we are going to lose the platform," Petrobras President Henri Philippe Reichstul said. The enormous structure was listing three times more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa and appeared on the verge of lurching into the sea. If it topples over, at least half of the 1,200 cubic meters of diesel and 300 cubic meters of crude stored on the rig could spill. Five boats are standing by to collect the oil, but they can only hold half of the total amount stored there. | | Petrobas oil rig "Petrobras is much more worried about cutting costs than ensuring the safety of its workers and of the environment," said Jandira Segalli, a federal deputy who met with officials after the explosion. Union leaders have called for a nationwide protest to demand safer working conditions. More than 80 oil workers have died in accidents over the past three years. Petrobras has also caused a series of high-profile environmental disasters in recent years. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
