Part of Iranian oil platform sinks during installation (VIDEO)

Iranian oil workers had to jump for their lives when part of a multi-million dollar oil platform began to sink into the Persian Gulf.

New video of last week's sinking shows the workers running along the structure and diving into the water as the ‘jacket’ of the $40 million rig plunges under the waves.The rig was being installed in the South Pars field by Iran’s POGC and the builder Iranian Marine Industrial which is controlled by the country’s Revolutionary Guards, says Dow Jones newswires. Reuters reports the local Mehr news agency saying Iran had asked for foreign help to retrieve the oil rig from 80 meters down in the Gulf.Iran is faced with an import ban of key oil exploration technology, and has embarked on building its own equipment.