MIRI: Five Petronas maintenance workers were injured, three of them seriously, in a fire that broke out at Petronas Carigali's "Tukau B" oil drilling platform, 31 nautical miles west of here yesterday.
Petronas said in a statement that the 9.20am fire occurred at the compressor skid of the platform and that the injured workers were airlifted to Miri Hospital by helicopter.
They landed at the Miri Airport at 12.45pm and were sent to the hospital in several ambulances.
Eleven other personnel on the platform, who were uninjured in the incident, were repatriated to the nearby "Tukau A" living quarters.
Datuk Sebastian Ting, the political secretary to the energy, green technology and water minister, visited the injured workers yesterday.
Ting identified one of the workers as Bernard Christopher, who suffered burns and is being treated in the intensive care unit.
"The doctor treating him said it was a first-degree burn," Ting told reporters.
He said Christopher was conscious and could relate to him what happened on the platform.
Christopher said the fire happened in a flash and it spread quickly.
Ting said Christopher considered himself lucky as he managed to shield his face with his hands when the compressor exploded and the fire broke out.
Petronas said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
