Scramble to find survivors after oil platform sinks

NEW DELHI - Ten people died and 367 were rescued after fire destroyed an oil platform off India's west coast.

Owner Oil and Natural Gas Corp said the company would try to restore part of the 100,000-barrel-a-day output in a few months at the platform in the Bombay High offshore oil field.

Coastguard officials said several helicopters, six Navy and two coastguard ships, and many civilian craft were scouring rough seas in bad weather for any survivors of the fire.

"We have picked up people from the sea and there were people who were in the water for more than 12 hours," Madanjit Singh, vice-admiral of the Western Naval Command, said.

Rugged seas rocked a support craft into the platform, which started a fire.

The platform, support craft and a nearby rig were burned and the platform sank.

The Navy said at least 10 people have died. Six divers remain trapped in the support craft, and one or two people are missing, while 367 people have been rescued, the Navy said.

"After the rainy season ends in September, we may build sub-sea pipelines to a nearby platform," a company official said.

Building a new platform to restore normal output could take a year.

The sunken platform is about 160km southwest of India's financial hub, Mumbai (Bombay).

About 225 people were working on the platform when the fire broke out.

Some people jumped into lifeboats to escape the flames and get to nearby platforms.

Rescue operations were hampered as the company's helicopters in Mumbai were grounded because of floods.

Bombay High, India's largest offshore field, produces 14 per cent of the oil India consumes and accounts for 38 per cent of all domestic production.

- REUTERS