The Huffington Post reports that the vessel with carrying the rig and 67 crew-members collapsed in rough waters while crossing the Sea of Okhotsk, 120 miles from Sakhalin. Passing boats managed to pull 14 people alive from the near-freezing ocean, while at least four were found dead. Rescue workers are scrambling to aid the remaining 49 crew-members that remain missing, aware that their chances of survival at sea slim.
Although no major environmental damage from an oil leak is expected from the non-operational rig, the incident highlights the troubling risks to human life resulting from the pursuit of increasingly difficult-to-reach sources of oil.
"This disaster should highlight the high risks of offshore projects," says World Wildlife Fund energy official, Alexei Knizhnikov. "It's very difficult to conduct efficient rescue operations, whether it's rescuing people or dealing with oil spills, in the weather and conditions of the Arctic."
