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Oil rig disaster families to be compensated up to $130K

Economy Materials 8 December 2015 12:48 (UTC +04:00)
Insurance payments to be made by the PASHA Life Insurance to the family of each oilman affected by a fire on an offshore oil platform can reach 140,000 manats (over $130,000), said Salim Muslimov
Oil rig disaster families to be compensated up to $130K

Details added (first version posted on 12:48)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 8

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

Insurance payments to the family of each oilman affected by a fire on a Caspian Sea platform can reach 140,000 manats (over $130,000), according to Salim Muslimov, Azerbaijani minister for labor and social protection of population.

Earlier, on Dec. 4, a fire broke out on the offshore platform #10 of Gunashli field in the Caspian Sea, as a strong storm damaged an underwater high-pressure gas pipeline. As many as 33 people were rescued in an ensuing large-scale operation. The bodies of seven killed oilmen have been retrieved, while 23 oilmen are still listed as missing.

The insurance payments are to be made by the PASHA Life Insurance, he said at a briefing in Baku, Dec. 8.

"According to our calculations, for example, a person aged 30-35, having three children and receiving a salary of 600 manats can get an insurance payment of 80,000 manats," noted Muslimov.

"Some payments will reach 140,000 manats," he added.

The minister added that Azerbaijani government will also pay compensations to those affected, and the finance ministry will soon make relevant proposals.

"As it was noted yesterday at a commission meeting, SOCAR [Azerbaijan's State Oil Company] will also pay compensation to the affected staff," said Muslimov.

He said that 63 SOCAR employees, as well as the three people missing from the offshore field Oil Rocks, were employed under labor contracts with insurance policies from PASHA Life.

Earlier the same day the fire occurred at the Gunashli field, a strong storm washed a booth on the platform #501 of the Oil Rocks down into the sea. At that moment, there were three oilmen in the booth - Javad Khudaverdiyev, Bahman Jafarov and Rovshan Mammadov.

Muslimov said the ministry he heads has established two commissions - one for the incident on the Oil Rocks, and the other for the fire on the platform #10 at the Gunashli field.

He added that both commissions will investigate the compliance with labor safety regulations.

"The information obtained will then be handed over to law enforcement authorities," noted the minister.

He said his ministry's officials are constantly at the hospital where the injured were taken, as well as in the special headquarters set up in connection with the Gunashli platform fire.

Addressing the briefing, the Chairman of the State Social Protection Fund Elman Mehdiyev said the families with minors, who as a result of the incident lost the head of the family, will receive an appropriate pension, and the persons who became disabled will be provided with disability pensions.

One of the oilmen, who suffered burns on 60 percent of the body surface, will be assigned the 1st disability group, he added.

Edited by SI

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