Workers killed in Petrobras platform blast

OREANDA-NEWS. An explosion this afternoon aboard an oil platform in the Espirito Santo basin's Camarupim field operated by Brazilian state-controlled Petrobras has killed an unspecified number of workers and injured others, according to a spokesman for the Norwegian platform owner BW Offshore.

The blast took place on the 25,000 b/d floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit Cidade de S?o Mateus.

The oil workers union said three workers died in the explosion, four were injured and six are missing.

The union said a natural gas leak caused the blast, and a related fire is now under control.

"There is no risk of new explosions," the union said.

Petrobras said it has not received notification of the incident.

BW Offshore is preparing a statement.