Where is varanus island

The outlet explained the plan was for the workers to cut through the column with flame cutters while the crane held the caisson's weight. However, as separation was about to be reached, the caisson began to rock wildly in danger of smashing into the workers in its path. With a loud bang it suddenly separated at the height of the workers' heads and swung around uncontrollably as cables and pieces rained down. A huge metal cable still dangling from the caisson was dragged past the workers as they frantically climbed down to get out of the way.

The quick-thinking crane driver saved the day by lifting the caisson as far away from the workers as it could, but they and those on the boat were still at risk from falling debris. As the giant platform starts to rock back and forth, metal cables are seen flailing and snapping as dropped objects narrowly miss the orange-clad workers underneath. Australian Workers' Union national secretary Daniel Walton described the incident as one of the 'most horrifically scary accidents' the union has ever seen in the WA resources industry.

Mr Walton said without the quick actions of the crane driver the three men would have 'undoubtedly been squashed'. The Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety said Santos was banned from performing any similar lifts while the accident was being investigated.

A diagram of the platform that the workers were dismantling. American energy company Apache built them in and ceased operation in They have been inactive since then. Santos said it had ceased all activities and later notified the industry regulator of the accident. Santos said it was working with the regulator to ensure measures were implemented for future operations to ensure an incident did not happen again.

American energy company Apache built the Sinbad platforms in and ceased operation in Apache sold them to Quadrant Energy in , which Santos bought out months later. It is now dismantling all the platforms.

No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. Santos is the biggest producer of domestic gas in Western Australia and has been operating in the west since its first offshore discovery, in the Carnarvon Basin, in the early s. Gas, condensate and oil from the offshore John Brookes, Harriet and Spar-Halyard fields is piped to the Santos-operated Varanus Island processing facility.

The sales gas is then transported to mainland WA via two kilometre pipelines, where it is supplied to major mining and industrial customers. A man attacked by a shark spent about 10 agonising hours on-board a vessel before he could be professionally treated for his gruesome injuries. A man attacked by a shark while on a fishing charter spent about 10 hours on-board the vessel before he could be professionally treated for his significant injuries.

The vessel travelled through the night to reach Exmouth where they were met by paramedics about One week on, power supply was still tenuous. Some gas started flowing again from Varanus Island in September, in the midst of a State election campaign that ended with Colin Barnett forming a government.

Apache started a relentless and aggressive legal campaign to suppress the report. The report was finally made public in May , three years after it was completed, when State mines and petroleum minister Norman Moore tabled it in Parliament.

Credit: WA News The accident could not have come at a worse time as the State looked to ramp up use of the other alternative to gas — coal.

Main image: Varanus Island today. Source: Santos.