Drilling rig sinks off Gabon with 115 aboard

A jack-up drilling rig sank off the coast of Gabon late on Saturday with 115 people on board, setting off a large search and rescue operation in the Atlantic.

The rig, the Prospector 5, is owned and operated by Borr Drilling and was working for BW Energy on the Dussafu Marine licence off Mayumba, in the country's far south. Borr says it lost stability during preparation work before drilling had begun, and then went down.

Of the 115 people aboard, 110 have been rescued and are safe. Five remain missing. Gabon's government says they are three Gabonese nationals, one Indian national and one Croatian national, and that their families and embassies have been informed.

A petroleum workers' union official was quoted on Sunday as saying one of the missing, an Indian national, had died, but the companies have not confirmed any death. Borr Drilling's latest update still listed five people as unaccounted for.

President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema ordered the security forces to mobilise for the search. Helicopters have flown over the area since the night of the accident, the navy is coordinating operations at sea, and neighbouring Republic of Congo has sent its own navy to help. Remotely operated underwater vehicles are being deployed to explore the sunken rig. The rescued workers are being taken to Port-Gentil for medical and psychological care.

The government has ordered an investigation into the cause. Officials and BW Energy say no pollution or harmful discharge into the sea has been seen so far, and production at the nearby MaBoMo facility has been shut down as a precaution.