On Saturday, October 24, at 8:37 p.m., the drilling rig Prospector 5 sank in the Atlantic Ocean near Mayumba, Gabon, while crews were carrying out jacking operations ahead of a planned drilling campaign for BW Energy. There were 115 people on board when the platform went down.
In its Monday update, operator Borr Drilling said 110 of the 115 had been confirmed safe and brought ashore for care and support, while one person was confirmed dead and four remained unaccounted for. Extensive marine and air search-and-rescue operations were underway, with finding the missing described as the overriding priority.
Early findings point to a “punch-through” event during preload work that caused the platform to lose stability and sink, though a full investigation is still needed to establish exactly what happened. Chief executive Bruno Morand expressed deep concern for everyone affected by the sinking.
Nearby, Panoro Energy reported no damage or harmful discharge from its MaBoMo facility, where production had been shut down under standard drilling-preparation procedures. As the search continued, families waited for news of the four still missing.
