Italian oil and gas contractor Saipem has confirmed 14 crew have been injured in the Caspian Sea after a fire on board a pipe lay vessel.
The Milan-headquartered firm said the blast occured around 6:30pm on Wednesday on the Israfil Huseynov.
The victims were later transferred to another vessel, Citadel, in order to reach a hospital.
The ship is now enroute to Baku and expected to arrive after midday tomorrow.
A spokesman for Saipem said: “Saipem regrets to advise that at approximately 6.30 pm on 8 May there was a fire on board Saipem operated pipe laying vessel “Israfil Huseynov”, fourteen (14) people were injured and are now on board the vessel “Citadel” which is expected in Baku at approximately 1.45 am (Friday, 10 May).
“Ambulances are waiting to transfer the injured personnel to the Central Hospital of Oil Workers.
“Saipem is following the development on a continuous basis and will issue regular updates.”