Venezuelan natural gas sea platform sinks

An offshore natural gas platform has sunk off Venezuela, although the country's oil minister says it does not pose a threat to the environment.

The government said 95 workers on the Aban Pearl platform of north-eastern Sucre state were rescued by a frigate and smaller boats. The gas platform disappeared into the Caribbean Sea at 2:20am local time (6.50am GMT) today.

President Hugo Chavez announced the sinking on social networking website Twitter: "To my sorrow, I inform you that the Aban Pearl gas platform sank moments ago. The good news is that 95 workers are safe."

Officials are investigating what could have caused the platform to sink, oil minister Rafael Ramirez said. He said there was a problem with the flotation of the semi-submergible platform that led to water to gush in.

He said alarms went off three hours before the sinking, giving the crew time to escape. Three workers, including the captain, stayed behind until it was clear that the platform was at risk of collapsing, and then abandoned the rig.

A tube connecting the rig to the gas field was disconnected and safety valves shut. "There's no problem of any sort of any leak from the field into the environment," said Mr Ramirez.

Last week Mr Ramirez attended a ceremony on the platform broadcast on live television as its gas flare was lit to inaugurate the project. Mr Chavez praised the project as an important step in Venezuela's efforts to tap its huge natural-gas deposits.

The exploration platform at the Dragon 6 gas field was operated by the state energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA off the Paria Peninsula of eastern Venezuela, near Trinidad and Tobago.

Venezuela, a major oil exporter and OPEC member, is exploring offshore natural gas fields that are among the world's biggest known deposits.

The sinking comes less than a month after an explosion that destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, causing a massive oil leak that is threatening the Gulf Coast's ecosystem.