Russia Rescuers find 17th body from sunken Kolskaya oil rig

Another body has been found at the Kolskaya drilling platform that sank while being towed to Sakhalin Island on Sunday, bringing the number of dead found to 17, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said. The Kolskaya drilling rig was being towed in a severe storm when it overturned and sank some 200 km (125 miles) off Russia's Sakhalin Island early on Sunday. Of the 67 people onboard, 14 have been rescued and 36 more are listed as missing. The death toll now stands at 17 people. The ice-breaker Magadan and the rescue vessel, Atlas, as well as a Mi-8 helicopter are involved in the ongoing search operation, the regional Emergencies Ministry said in a statement. “The weather conditions in the search area are favorable, though they are going to worsen by evening.” Investigators name the violation of safety rules, technical mishaps of the rig and weather conditions among the possible causes of the tragedy. The drilling rig, built in 1985 in Finland, was carrying out work under a contract with energy giant Gazprom. The rig, which is 69 meters long and 80 meters wide, can accommodate up to 102 people. Arktikmorneftegazrazvedka, the company that owns the rig has said the families of each of those who perished in the tragedy will receive at least 3 million rubles ($93,640) in compensation.