ConOil platform in Koluama 1 community of Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa State was engulfed by fire on Saturday morning and trapped 28 of the workers in the company.
No less than 100 oil workers were confirmed rescued yesterday.
The fire, which was confirmed by the Joint Military Task Force(JMTF) in the Niger Delta , codenamed Operation Delta Safe, started around 5am on Saturday and has blew up the oil platform and razed down the residential area of oil workers.
The rescued workers have been flown to Port Harcourt on Rivers. While the others are still trapped in their residence with fire fighters and locals battling to put off the fire and save the helipad.
According to Eye of Lagos report shows that yesterday the fire fighters, who were flown into the community on Saturday
from Port Harcourt, Rivers State , were assisted by indigenes of Koluama 1 and other fishing communities in the area.
A reliable source, who was part of the indigenes who is assisting in the rescue and evacuation operation, told Eyes Of Lagos that though the oilfield is operated by ConOil, the oil rig is owned by Depthwize Nigeria, an oil services firm working at the oil block operated by Conoil Nigeria Limited. The rig is located within Nigeria’s territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean off Koluama community in Southern Ijaw area of the state.
Spokesman for the OPDS, Maj. Abdullahi Ibrahim , who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said that all personnel on board the rig were successfully evacuated. He said that the fire was already under control due to the efforts of firefighters , adding that no life was lost .
Source: eye of Lagos.
