WORLD NEWS: ONE MISSING AFTER OIL RIG SINKS OFF TRINIDAD

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An oil rig sank in the waters off Trinidad Sunday, leaving one worker missing, the company and oil workers union said.

The rig, operated by Well Services in the Gulf of Paria, between Trinidad and Venezuela, started sinking around 3:00 am (0700 GMT).

All but one of the workers were safely evacuated, and divers were sent to the site on a search-and-rescue mission, according to Christopher Jackman, president of the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU)’s Pointe-a-Pierre branch.

One person was injured, Well Services said in a statement, adding that the individual is “in stable condition and receiving medical care.”

The platform was drilling in the Heritage Offshore East Field, the company said, when the incident occurred.

Heritage Petroleum, Trinidad and Tobago’s state-owned oil company, said that while it was supporting the drilling project, the platform was operated by Well Services.

Former energy minister Kevin Ramnarine, however, said the state oil company “cannot remove itself from its responsibility for these operations.”

Current energy minister Stuart Young said that he had been briefed on the situation and that the incident “is under investigation.”

The government is “currently liaising with both Heritage Petroleum and Well Services,” he said.

AFP