RPM calls for investigation after sinking off Gabon
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Gabonclic
The Rassemblement pour la Patrie et la Modernité is calling for a technical investigation after the Prospector 5 rig ran aground, leaving 110 survivors and five people missing off Mayumba. Its spokesperson Étienne Francky Meba Ondo also called for support for the families and the preservation of national unity, according to Gabonclic.
The Rassemblement pour la Patrie et la Modernité (RPM), a Gabonese political party, is calling for a technical investigation into the sinking of the Prospector 5 drilling rig off Mayumba. In a statement issued on Sunday in Libreville, its spokesperson Etienne Francky Meba Ondo also called for restraint and condemned any political exploitation of the tragedy.
The sinking, which occurred on the night of 24 to 25 October 2026, left 110 survivors and five people missing among the workers on board. The rig was jointly operated by oil companies BW Energy and Borr Drilling. The RPM praised the swift rescue efforts and the emergency coordination put in place by the Gabonese government under the leadership of President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.
The party expressed its support for the survivors and the families of those missing. It called on political leaders and civil society to show compassion and dignity, so that the families would be spared any partisan agitation.
The RPM’s call comes after an investigation into the sinking was announced on 25 October. On the same day, an expert also called for responsibility to be established. The investigation opened after the Prospector 5 sinking now forms the official part of the inquiry into the causes of the tragedy.
