On 4 December 2015, a deadly fire broke out in the northern part of platform No. 10 at the western section of the

Gunashli oilfield Gunashli ( Azerbaijani: ''Günəşli'') is an offshore oil field in the Caspian Sea, located east of Baku, Azerbaijan, southeast of Oil Rocks and its deep water section is a part of the larger Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli (ACG) project. The Aze ...

operated by

SOCAR The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Neft Şirkəti), largely known as SOCAR is fully state-owned national oil and gas company headquartered in Baku, Azerbaijan. The company produces oil and na ...

. The fire started, according to SOCAR, when a high-pressure subsea gas pipeline was damaged in a heavy storm. As a result of the fire, the platform, which had been in service since 1984, partially collapsed. Fire spread to several oil and gas wells. Production at all 28 wells (24 oil wells and 4 gas wells) connected to the platform was suspended, pipelines connecting the platform to the shore were closed, and electricity to the platform was cut off. Before the accident, the platform produced 920 tonnes of oil and of gas per day. About 60% of the oil produced by SOCAR was transported through this platform. At the time of the accident, 63 workers were on the platform. According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, 12 workers are confirmed killed, 18 are still missing (as of December 2017), 33 were rescued; and nine were hospitalized. According to SOCAR, people went missing when a life boat with 34 people on board fell from the platform into the sea and was damaged after hitting piles of the platform. On 5 December, the Prosecutor General's Office launched a criminal investigation into the possible violation of fire safety rules. President of Azerbaijan

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

has signed an Order declaring 6 December 2015 a day of mourning for those who died in the incident.

References

{{coord missing, Azerbaijan Oil platform disasters 2015 industrial disasters Maritime incidents in 2015 2015 fires in Asia 2015 in Azerbaijan Fires in Azerbaijan 2015 disasters in Azerbaijan December 2015 events in Asia