North Sea oil platform leak sparks evacuation
North Sea oil platform leak prompts 70 workers to be evacuated from rig; No spill reported
LONDON (AP) -- The TAQA oil company says dozens of workers have been evacuated from a North Sea oil platform after a hydrocarbon leak was detected.
The Abu Dhabi-based company says 71 of the 145 workers on the Cormorant Alpha platform were taken off the rig off the northeast coast of Scotland on Saturday. The company says in a statement that no hydrocarbons spilled.
The company says the leak in one of the platform legs was discovered during maintenance. The platform and all pipeline infrastructure were shut down as a precaution.
The installation is situated about 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Lerwick on Shetland Island.
The incident marks the second time this year that the platform had to be partially evacuated following the discovery of a leak.
