Venezuelan oil rig sinks
Published:Thursday | May 13, 2010 | 5:59 PM
A gas platform has sunk in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, but the energy minister says it poses no risk to the environment.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the incident via the social networking site Twitter.
He says all 95 workers were evacuated from the Aban Pearl platform before it sank early this morning.
The rig was at the centre of Venezuela\'s efforts to develop its huge offshore gas deposits.
Venezuela\'s energy and oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, says there was a problem with the flotation system of the semi-submergible platform, which caused it to keel over and sink.