According to BNO News; Officials and witnesses report a mud volcano erupted near an oil station off the coast of Azerbaijan, generating a massive fireball visible across the region.
The incident occurred on Sunday around 9:30 p.m. local time, when a big explosion and fire were reported in the Caspian Sea south of Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital. The sky was lit up by massive flames.
Local media initially reported that the explosion occurred on an oil platform, but the State Oil Company (SOCAR) promptly refuted this, claiming that no accidents had occurred. Rumors of a ship explosion were also denied.
Gurban Yetirmishli, the director of the country’s seismological service, told “No accidents occurred on the oil platforms or ships. This is a sign of a mud volcano. There are many mud volcanoes in the Caspian Sea, one of which erupted.”
According to a SOCAR spokeswoman, a ship manned by experts has been dispatched to the location to investigate what happened.
The explosion on Sunday did not appear to have harmed any ships or oil platforms. There were no injuries reported.
A closer video of the oil rig explosion in the Caspian Sea taken from a nearby oil platform
pic.twitter.com/m7RFWZOUvs— Intel Air & Sea (@air_intel) July 4, 2021
