The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), confirmed in a statement that four employees died in a platform accident on 23 October.
According to SOCAR's statement, "The dead bodies of three of the four employees, missing after an accident at the faulty platform No 441 of the Narimanov oil and gas production department, have been found and took to the shore by divers of SOCAR and Ministry of Emergency Situations. The search for another missing worker is underway."
SOCAR says that the structure collapsed at the faulty platform #441 of the Narimanov oil and gas production department (OGPD) during the repair works and a wagon-house fell into the sea, damaging and causing fire on a 700mm pipeline. The fire was extinguished about 45 minutes after the accident.
The company says 41 people were working at the site when the structures collapsed. As a result of operative measures taken by a rescue team immediately after the accident, 37 people were evacuated from the incident site to the beach on Orion-15 and PSK-52 vessels. Doctors treated the injured workers.
A special commission was set up to investigate the accident. SOCAR will provide additional information on the results of the search.