The world's biggest offshore oil rig, owned by Brazil's state oil giant Petrobras, threatened to sink into the ocean spilling crude oil today, a day after an explosion that reportedly killed 10 people.
Three powerful blasts rocked the 40-story rig off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state yesterday, causing a fire that killed at least one of the 175 workers aboard.
Nine workers were listed as missing, and Petrobras said there was little chance they had survived. Another worker was hospitalized with severe burns.
Public outrage is mounting against accident-prone Petrobras as its biggest platform tilted into the sea. If the rig sinks it could dump crude and diesel into the open ocean, causing yet another environmental disaster.
Tense families of the workers also waited to see if the official death toll would rise when search and rescue operations resume later in the day.
"Petrobras is much more worried about cutting costs than ensuring the safety of its workers and of the environment," said Ms Jandira Segalli, a federal deputy who met with officials after the explosion.
Petrobras has also caused a string of high-profile environmental disasters in recent years.