Offshore staff

IMMINGHAM, UK -- Three crew members of an emergency response and rescue vessel were killed during support operations on BP's Amethyst gas field in the southern North Sea.

The crew members were onboard Vroon Offshore Services' Viking Islay, which was serving the jackup Ensco 92 when the accident happened. The events leading to the incident have yet to be established, but it appears the men were attempting to secure an anchor chain in a storage area in the 53-m (174-ft) vessel's bow.

The vessel has since returned to Immingham in east Yorkshire where Britain's Marine Accident Investigation branch is looking into the incident.

09/24/2007