Over a dozen injured in Petrobras platform fire

A total of 14 workers were injured after a fire broke out on Petrobras’ Cherne 1 platform (PCH-1) in the Campos Basin, some 130 km off Rio de Janeiro.

Initially, Petrobras reported that one service provider suffered minor burns and was conscious, however, the number rose to 14 as more time passed. It was also stated that the man fell into the sea due to the accident.

The state-owned giant stated that the worker rescued at sea was receiving hospital care and is stable. The company said that the other 13 injured workers are also receiving care at a “hospital in the region”.

According to the general coordinator of the Northern Fluminense Oil Workers Union and director of the United Oil Workers Federation, Sergio Borges Cordeiro, 176 workers were on board the platform, which has not produced oil since 2020.

Petrobras revealed that the remaining workers on the platform were fine following the incident on Monday and that it would form a commission to investigate the causes of the incident, which are yet unknown.

Cordeiro revealed via social media that the gas flow was stopped and that communications with the platform were down. He added that emergency vessels were also activated.

According to Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels, oil exploration and production activities in the country during 2024 saw 731 accidents last year with 183 people injured, 78 of them seriously, and one fatality.