Schoolboy feared dead in 'incredible' oil rig accident (Roundup)

Apr 13, 2007, 13:43 GMT

An undated file photograph of the Norweigian oil rig support vessel Bourbon Dolphin.. EPA/ASK, ERIK / HANDOUT

London/Oslo - A 15-year-old schoolboy was Friday feared to be among five crew members missing after a Norwegian oil rig supply vessel capsized in the North Atlantic off the coast of the Shetland Islands, with three confirmed dead among the all-Norwegian crew of 15.

As British coastguards Friday scaled down their rescue efforts to a 'search and recovery operation' hope was fading that the five men believed to be trapped in the tug's upturned hull would be found alive by naval divers.

Ten crew members were winched to safety by rescue helicopters soon after the anchor-handling tug Bourbon Dolphin capsized at the Rosebank oil rig, some 120 kilometres off the coast of the Shetlands, Thursday. But three of the men died later in hospital.

'This is a great tragedy,' Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told broadcaster NRK, adding that 'all of Norway shares in the grief.'

Local coastguards said it would be a 'miracle' if the missing five had survived the night in freezing water. The hope that they could have survived in an air pocket faded Friday.

Unconfirmed reports from Norway said that a 15-year-old schoolboy, who was doing student's work experience on the vessel on which his father was employed, was among the missing.

Reports said the boy was a pupil at Ytre Heroy High School in the small island fishing community of Heroy on the west coast of Norway.

The Bourbon Dolphin was performing a routine anchor-handling operation in fair weather conditions at the time of the accident and issued no distress call, British rescuers said.

Norwegian media suggested Friday that an anchor chain snagged on one side of the vessel, which was overturned by the force of the winds and waves.

'There should be anchor stops to prevent slippage but it appears that perhaps the anchor has gone up the side and that it put strain on the vessel and perhaps caused it to sink,' said Jake Malloy, general secretary of the Offshore Industry Liaison Committee in Scotland.

The ship, which is less than a year old, had been working just over 1.6 kilometres from the Rosebank oilfield when it capsized, and was still connected to the facility by an anchor chain, coastguards said.

Anje Nilsen, 39, from Tromso, northern Norway spent 25 minutes in the icy water before he was rescued by a helicopter.

Nilsen told his girlfriend Gerd Sorensen early Friday that events unfolded 'extremely fast', the Nordlys.no online newspaper said.

The ship's owners, Bourbon Offshore, which is based in Fosnavaag in the Vestlandet region of Norway, said it was 'incredible' that such an accident should happen.

'The vessel is more or less brand new. This is a common task and a common job in the whole area and it's absolutely incredible that it has happened,' said Trond Myklebust, managing director of Bourbon Norway.

He said the company had chartered a plane due to bring company representatives and family members to Lerwick on the Shetland Islands later Friday.

'This is the worst day in the company. It's difficult and is tragic for us but we are trying to focus on helping the relatives,' said Myklebust.

'At this stage we do not know how it happened. We only know it happened quickly,' he added.

The Bourbon Dolphin had a number of tasks, including anchor- handling and towing, the installation of subsea construction blocks and operations involving remote vehicles.