MASSIVE FIREBALL in Caspian Sea near site of gas pipeline off Azerbaijani coast – Baku officials blame volcanic eruption (VIDEOS)
An enormous fireball rose up from the Caspian Sea on Sunday, and was visible from Azerbaijan. Despite reports a gas platform may have exploded, the Ecology Ministry in Baku suggested that an undersea volcano might have erupted.
The fireball could be seen shoreside in Azerbaijan, with video footage taken from there showing the scale of the blast.
Explosion has been confirmed as a massive fire is seen. Footage taken from an Azerbaijani city. This looks like as if an oil drilling platform has exploded. pic.twitter.com/5v1xtt7TsA
— CaucasusWarReport (@Caucasuswar) July 4, 2021
The apparent explosion occurred around the offshore Umid natural gas field, the second-largest of its kind in Azerbaijan. Amid rumors of a drilling platform or pipeline catching fire, an official with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) announced that “there have been no accidents on offshore platforms and industrial facilities under the direct control of SOCAR.”
*Umid oil rig. The rig is safe (as video filmed from it), explosion and fire is in the sea near by pic.twitter.com/MUSjcy8WWZ
— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) July 4, 2021
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology said that the incident is being investigated, and that the preliminary cause is likely a volcanic eruption at sea, Sputnik Azerbaijan reported.
Details remain thin on the ground, and it is unclear if anyone was injured in the blast. The State Maritime Administration, meanwhile, has instructed ships to steer clear of the fire.
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