Three bodies located in Prospector 5 wreck off Gabon
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Infos Gabon
Three bodies were located in the wreckage of the Prospector 5 drilling platform, which sank off Mayumba in southern Gabon. Two workers remain missing and teams are preparing to recover the bodies, according to Vice Admiral Charles Hubert Bekale-Meyong, quoted by Infos Gabon.
Three bodies were located on Wednesday 28 October inside the submerged wreckage of the Prospector 5 drilling platform, which sank off Mayumba, in southern Gabon. Two people remain missing, Vice Admiral Charles Hubert Bekale-Meyong, chief of staff of the National Navy and coordinator of the search, under the supervision of the Ministry of Oil and Gas, announced, according to Infos Gabon.
The bodies were located using a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, which inspected the inside of the wreck without directly exposing divers. Their formal identification and recovery must still be carried out by specialist teams in accordance with safety procedures.
A total of 115 people were aboard the platform and 110 were rescued after the sinking. The five missing people were three Gabonese nationals, a Croatian and an Indian. A judicial investigation opened on 25 October by the public prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Tchibanga is continuing to establish the circumstances of the tragedy.
The location of the three bodies comes after the confirmation of two missing people on 26 October and the first reports that five workers were missing.
