Russian oil rig capsized: Dozens feared dead

In the icy sea off the east coast of Russia has played a tragedy: An oil rig with 67 people aboard sank in a severe storm in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. 14 crew members were rescued from the floods, according to the authorities, while the other crew members consisted of little more hope.

The rig was brought to Kolskaja noon (02.45 GMT clock) by a tugboat and an icebreaker on the Kamchatka peninsula to the island of Sakhalin, as she fell during a severe storm at sea and sank, like a local spokesman for the Emergencies Ministry announced. Until the late evening rescuers discovered the four bodies in the water, but they could not recover because of the high waves.

49 crew members are still missing, the condition is life threatening recovered from two of the 14 oil workers. "This is a terrible tragedy," said the governor of the northern Murmansk region Dmitry Dmitrijenko. 33 came from his region of the 67 crew members. "Please believe in salvation, it is still a chance."According to the Kremlin, the rescue efforts with airplanes, helicopters and ships continued in spite of the darkness and adverse weather conditions.

Temperatures well below freezing, up to five meters high waves and strong winds hampered the search for survivors. Experts assumed that the unfortunate workers could survive in the icy water in Schutzanzüngen maybe six hours. "After that uses the sub-cooling," said Anton Prokhorov from Ministry of Emergencies.

Ice and meter-high waves were damaged, according to the Emergencies Ministry, the hatches of the drilling rig. The water had penetrated so quickly that they had disappeared before rescue helicopters could reach them. The crew had apparently had no time to take refuge in the lifeboats. All four boats had been orphaned.

Investigators initiated an investigation into the cause of the crash. It is suspected that during the transport of oil rig safety rules were violated. The crew of the Kolskaja had, according to the Civil Protection Department before the accident, constantly licking water from a tank pump out. The platform is operated on behalf of Gazflot, a subsidiary of Russian gas giant Gazprom.