With the break of day, search for survivors and dead after the accident outside the island of Sakhalin continued. 14 dead have so far been found, the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport’s web site reads.
The rig was being tugged from Kamchatka to Sakhalin during a severe storm with wind of 25 m/s and waves of 5-6 meters when it overturned and started taking in water. (Facsimile from RIA Novosti)
The rig sank in course of only 20 minutes, Murmansk Oblast Governor Dmitry Dmitriyenko told RIA Novosti.
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32 of the 67 people aboard came from the Murmansk region. 14 persons were found alive after the accident and picked up by boats taking part in the rescue operation. All the 14 survivors were on duty on deck during the towing and were wearing survival suits and life-jackets.
A list with the names on all people aboard “Kolskaya” during the accident had been published on B-port.
The “Kolskaya” jack-up rig belongs to the Murmansk-based company Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka (Photo: Thomas Nilsen)
Russian media is now asking why the whole crew stayed onboard during the towing, and why towing was conducted at all in such bad weather. A source in the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport says to Kommersant that half of the people onboard had nothing to do with the towing operation – they were drilling operators, crane operators and others. – The number of casualties did not have to be that high, the source says.
According to Russian instructions for safety at sea, only a required minimum of personnel should be onboard a vessel that is being towed. The Russian Agency for Transport Supervision has started investigation of the accident.
The weather in the area is bad, with wind of 10 m/s, waves of 2 meters and temperature of -2°C. The water temperature is 1°C.
