Under the cover of darkness, an enormous offshore oil rig begins to tilt. Its illuminated decks hang at an alarming angle as workers scramble toward lifeboats. Nearby, enclosed rescue craft float in the black Atlantic while the hulking structure sinks.
The terrifying scene, captured in footage circulating online, unfolded off the coast of Gabon, Central Africa, on Saturday, October 24. Tragically, not everyone made it home.
See the footage below:
The vessel was Borr Drilling’s Prospector 5, a massive jack-up rig with 115 people aboard. Reuters reported that one worker, an Indian national, died, while four others—three Gabonese nationals and another expatriate—remained missing. The company’s October 26 update still classified all five as unaccounted for.
The rig was preparing for a drilling campaign in the Dussafu Marin field near Mayumba when disaster struck around 8:37 p.m., according to operator Borr Drilling.
Its scale makes the images especially staggering. Company specifications describe a platform 231 feet long and 250 feet wide, supported by three legs measuring 547 feet each. The drilling derrick alone rises 210 feet above its base.
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What went wrong?
“Preliminary information indicates that the rig experienced a punch-through event during preload activities,” Borr Drilling said, causing a loss of stability and the rig’s sinking.
A jack-up rig lowers its enormous legs to the seabed before lifting its working platform above the water. A punch-through occurs when a supporting leg suddenly penetrates softer sediment below, potentially tipping the entire structure.
“We are deeply concerned for those who remain unaccounted for and everyone affected by this incident,” Borr CEO Bruno Morand said.
Of the 115 aboard, 110 were safely accounted for. Aircraft and vessels continued searching for the missing, while Gabonese authorities launched a technical investigation and deployed naval support.
BW Energy halted production at its nearby MaBoMo facility, reporting no damage there or harmful discharge from the facility. Officials also mobilized pollution-response resources to protect the coastline.
The video is extraordinary. The human consequences are devastating.
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