3 oil workers missing after Saudi platform sinks

Three Asian workers are missing in Saudi Arabia after an offshore maintenance platform of a state oil firm sank.

Saudi oil firm Aramco said in a statement on Friday that the remaining 24 crew also suffered from “limited injuries” and that a “search is ongoing for three others — two Indians and a Bangladeshi.”

The platform was carrying out maintenance work at an oil well in Safaniya, the world’s largest offshore oilfield, in Eastern Province, 265 kilometers (165 miles) north of the city of Dhahran.

The company said its overall production was not affected and it would launch an investigation into Friday’s incident.

Eastern Province Coastguard spokesman Colonel Khaled al-Arqubi also said that forces under his command were alerted to the incident around 19 nautical miles off Ras al-Khafji port.

Measuring 50 by 15 kilometers, the Safaniya oil field has a producing capability of more than 1.2 million barrels per day.