Aker BP has confirmed that a Maersk Drilling employee has died following an accident on Maersk Drilling jackup Maersk Interceptor on Thursday at its Tambar field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.

Two workers were injured in the accident, the nature of which is still unknown, while performing maintenance on the rig. One of them, a Norwegian citizen, fell into the sea and, despite being picked up by a standby vessel and transported to hospital by helicopter, has died.

The other person involved in the accident is in hospital, but not in a critical condition.

Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, commented: “Our thoughts are now with the families, the injured person and everyone else who is affected by this serious accident. We have cooperated closely with Maersk Drilling and will do everything we can to take care of those affected and their families in this difficult situation.

“This is a serious accident, and we will do our utmost to identify the cause. We will make all resources available in the upcoming investigation.”

Drilling operations on the Maersk Interceptor have been secured and production on Tambar has been shut down.