HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -- An underwater explosion Monday killed two divers working at the site of the ill-fated Ocean Ranger which sank with 84 men on board in 1982, rescue officials said.
A spokesman at the Canadian Forces rescue coordination center said company officials told them the accident apparently occurred while crews sought to refloat the Ocean Ranger and move her to deeper water.
'The only thing we've been advised is that there was an incident out there and two divers died in an explosion at siteof the Ocean Ranger sinking,' he said.
Bill Kerr, branch manager for Kerr Steamships, also confirmed the incident from St. John's but declined to comment further.
Kerr Steamships is the local agent for the Ocean Servant, the giant barge which recently began work on the Ranger, which is considered a potential threat to navigation until she is moved.
The 15,000-ton Ocean Ranger, the world's largest semi-submersible oil rig, capsized in a violent storm Feb. 15, 1982, about 175 miles off the Newfoundland coast, killing all 84 crew members.
Although no full explanation for the disaster has been found, ARvestigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and a Canadian royal commission have Andicated the rig's ballast controls were crippled by a giant wave that broke through a control room porthole.
The 15,000 ton Ocean Ranger, the world's largest semi-submersible oil rig, capsized in a violent storm Feb. 15, 1982 about 175 miles off the Newfoundland coast, killing all 84 crew members.
The sinking of the 10-story rig, leased by Mobil Oil Canada from Ocean Drilling and Exploration Co. of New Orleans, prompted inquiries in the United States and Canada, as well as several law suits from the families of victims.
Although no full explanation for the disaster has been found, ARvestigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and a Canadian royal commission have Andicated the rig's ballast controls were crippled by a giant wave that broke through a control room porthole.
