An explosion ripped through a Petrobras rig off Brazil Wednesday, killing three people, injuring 10 and leaving six others missing in a new blow to the embattled state oil giant.
The oil workers' union said a gas leak had caused the blast off the southeastern coast, the latest bad news for a company mired in a huge graft scandal involving alleged kickbacks to politicians.
"Of the 74 workers on board, three did not survive their wounds and died on site. Ten were injured and have already been taken to hospital by helicopter for medical attention," said Petrobras, the largest company in the world's seventh-largest economy.
"Six others have disappeared," added the oil giant.
Petrobras said the accident was now under control.
No oil was spilled, according to the state oil regulator, the National Petroleum Agency (ANP).
The explosion occurred at the FPSO Cidade de Sao Mateus rig -- owned by Norwegian firm BW Offshore and leased by Petrobras -- about 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the coast of Espirito Santo state.
BW Offshore declined to comment on the incident.
Flights were suspended at the airport in Vitoria, the state capital, to allow the helicopters carrying the wounded to operate unhindered.
Ten ambulances were deployed to transfer the injured from the airport to various hospitals in the area, the state government said.
The state health office said two people had suffered serious burns and eight had concussions.
Petrobras is currently mired in a huge graft scandal involving kickbacks to politicians that led to the resignation of its board of directors last week.
Aldemir Bendine, previously chief executive of state-controlled Banco do Brasil, took over as CEO from Graca Foster, who stepped down in the face of mounting market and political pressure.
Investigators say Petrobras executives colluded with construction firms to steal $4 billion from the company's coffers over the course of a decade, with some of the cash being paid out in bribes to politicians -- including members of President Dilma Rousseff's coalition.
Petrobras has also been hit hard by sliding oil prices, which fell 60 percent between June and January.
- String of accidents -
The rig where the explosion ocurred had a daily average production of 2.25 million cubic meters of natural gas and 2,200 barrels of oil in December, the ANP said.
It had been operating in the area since 2009.
The state oil regulator said two teams would investigate the explosion.
Petrobras has been hit by a string of recent accidents at refineries and rigs.
Last month, an explosion at a refinery in the northeastern state of Bahia wounded three people.
In December 2013, a fire forced Petrobras to shut down production at an oil rig after two workers were wounded.
A week later, a refinery fire in Rio de Janeiro forced the company to temporarily close a production unit.
And in February 2014, Petrobras partly evacuated an offshore rig that was tilting over.
An explosion ripped through a Petrobras rig off Brazil Wednesday, killing three people, injuring 10 and leaving six others missing in a new blow to the embattled state oil giant.
The oil workers’ union said a gas leak had caused the blast off the southeastern coast, the latest bad news for a company mired in a huge graft scandal involving alleged kickbacks to politicians.
“Of the 74 workers on board, three did not survive their wounds and died on site. Ten were injured and have already been taken to hospital by helicopter for medical attention,” said Petrobras, the largest company in the world’s seventh-largest economy.
“Six others have disappeared,” added the oil giant.
Petrobras said the accident was now under control.
No oil was spilled, according to the state oil regulator, the National Petroleum Agency (ANP).
The explosion occurred at the FPSO Cidade de Sao Mateus rig — owned by Norwegian firm BW Offshore and leased by Petrobras — about 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the coast of Espirito Santo state.
BW Offshore declined to comment on the incident.
Flights were suspended at the airport in Vitoria, the state capital, to allow the helicopters carrying the wounded to operate unhindered.
Ten ambulances were deployed to transfer the injured from the airport to various hospitals in the area, the state government said.
The state health office said two people had suffered serious burns and eight had concussions.
Petrobras is currently mired in a huge graft scandal involving kickbacks to politicians that led to the resignation of its board of directors last week.
Aldemir Bendine, previously chief executive of state-controlled Banco do Brasil, took over as CEO from Graca Foster, who stepped down in the face of mounting market and political pressure.
Investigators say Petrobras executives colluded with construction firms to steal $4 billion from the company’s coffers over the course of a decade, with some of the cash being paid out in bribes to politicians — including members of President Dilma Rousseff’s coalition.
Petrobras has also been hit hard by sliding oil prices, which fell 60 percent between June and January.
– String of accidents –
The rig where the explosion ocurred had a daily average production of 2.25 million cubic meters of natural gas and 2,200 barrels of oil in December, the ANP said.
It had been operating in the area since 2009.
The state oil regulator said two teams would investigate the explosion.
Petrobras has been hit by a string of recent accidents at refineries and rigs.
Last month, an explosion at a refinery in the northeastern state of Bahia wounded three people.
In December 2013, a fire forced Petrobras to shut down production at an oil rig after two workers were wounded.
A week later, a refinery fire in Rio de Janeiro forced the company to temporarily close a production unit.
And in February 2014, Petrobras partly evacuated an offshore rig that was tilting over.
