Three bodies have been found in Gabon after a massive drilling rig sank off the coast of Mayumba this weekend.
Five people were unaccounted for after Borr Drilling's Prospector 5 oil and gas rig went down late Saturday with 115 people aboard. Owned and operated by Borr, the rig is contracted to support BW Energy's drilling operations off Gabon and had not yet begun drilling.
Three bodies were located on Wednesday and two people were still missing, Chief of Staff of the Gabonese Navy, Charles Hubert Bekale-Meyong, said on TV.
Borr said in a separate statement that the bodies were located with help from an underwater remotely operated vehicle and that recovery efforts were under way.
An Indian national was among the dead and the missing included Gabonese nationals and an expatriate, sources told Reuters.
Borr said approximately 280 cubic metres of marine diesel fuel was onboard the Prospector 5 when it went down.
"In coordination with our customer and the local authorities, resources have been mobilized and measures are being taken to mitigate and minimize any environmental impact related to this incident," Borr said.
The company said in an earlier statement, "Preliminary information indicates that the rig experienced a punch-through event during preload activities, resulting in loss of stability and the subsequent sinking of the rig.
The incident happened in the Dussafu Marin permit area, a licence off the Gabon coast. BW Energy holds a 73.5 per cent working interest in the licence while Panoro Energy holds 17.5 per cent.
Gabon's Ministry of Petroleum and Gas said it had activated a crisis unit and ordered the navy to reinforce search and rescue operations at sea. The ministry ordered a technical investigation as well, Petroleum and Gas Minister Clotaire Kondja said in a statement.
Read MoreMoment huge oil rig sinks into the ocean as search for survivors continues
Equatorial Guinea is expanding an ambitious malaria elimination plan
Inside Trump’s killing of USAID and where we are now: ‘A farce to stroke Musk’s ego’
