WORLD
Oil rig workers evacuated from North Sea platform after gas leak is found
Baku, March 27 (AZERTAC). STAFF working an offshore platform in the North Sea has been evacuated after a gas leak was discovered on Sunday.
The leak on the Elgin PUQ platform, which is situated 150 miles off the coast of Aberdeen, led to the evacuation of 219 staff after it was found at lunchtime yesterday.
The operator said 19 core crew was left on board but was taken off overnight and flown to Aberdeen.
Total E&P UK (TEP UK), which operates the platform, said all 238 workers on the Elgin production platform and the nearby Rowan Viking drilling rig have been accounted for and no injuries reported.
The 19 workers who had initially remained on board the platform arrived back in Aberdeen at around 3.30am, leaving it unmanned and powered down.
The company said the platform is continuing to be monitored and the investigation into the cause of the gas leak is ongoing.
It said a surveillance plane is due on the scene to investigate reports of a sheen on the water in the area.
After the discovery of the leak, 150 non-essential staff were returned to Aberdeen while a further 69 crew members were taken to neighboring installations.
Aberdeen Coastguard co-coordinated the evacuation of the platform. Coastguard watch manager Kevin Brown said three rescue helicopters and four civilian helicopters helped with the process.
A statement from the company said: "Investigations are continuing to determine the cause of the ongoing gas leak and TEP UK is monitoring the situation closely.
"TEP UK is co-operating fully with all relevant authorities including the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Health and Safety Executive and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency."