One Azeri dead in blaze on offshore oil platform

A fire on an oil platform in the Caspian Sea killed an Azeri worker today while 32 others were rescued in operations hampered by a violent storm, President Ilham Aliyev said.
The storm had yesterday damaged a gas line on the platform in the deep water Guneshli section of the Azeri-Chiraq-Guneshli offshore oil field, causing the fire, state energy firm SOCAR said in a statement.
Spectacular footage on Azeri television showed the platform engulfed in flames in the midst of a raging sea.
"Despite bad weather conditions, 32 people could be saved," Aliyev said. "According to preliminary information, one person died. At this time, rescue operations continue."

He did not say how many workers were on the platform, but Azerbaijan's media quoting various sources said that more than 60 people had been aboard when the storm hit.
A mainly Muslim country of nine million wedged between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan is a key partner in projects to deliver Caspian Sea energy reserves to the West through pipelines to Turkey, bypassing Russia.