Iran Press/ Asia: A strong explosion shook the Caspian Sea area where Azerbaijan has extensive offshore oil and gas fields and a column of fire rose from the area, but the state oil company said none of its platforms were damaged.
The Caspian Sea has a high concentration of such volcanoes, which spew both mud and flammable gas.
SOCAR spokesman Ibrahim Ahmadov told the Interfax-Azerbaijan news agency on Monday that the company staff found a mud volcano ablaze on the uninhabited island of Dashly about 30 kilometers (20 miles) off the coast of Azerbaijan between the towns of Alat and Neftchala.
Azerbaijan's Emergency Ministry said that the volcano continued to burn on Monday morning, but the fire “doesn't pose a threat neither to the sea oil and gas infrastructure and other objects, nor to people's lives."
The Dashli island in the Caspian Sea, in which a mud volcano erupted recently, is of volcanic origin, the head of the Environmental Policy Department of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Rasim Sattarzade also confirmed the finding.
“Many mud volcanoes are located in Azerbaijan,” Sattarzade added.
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Azerbaijan: Huge explosion is reported in Caspian Sea
