Oil rig adrift in Norway

An operation is under way to rescue seventy seven crew members from a Norwegian oil platform after it ran adrift dragging its anchors in the North Sea.

The Bideford Dolphin rig had been doing exploratory work about one hundred and fifty kilometres northwest of the city of Bergen, on Norway's west coast.

There is a risk that if it keeps drifting further, it could collide with another oil platform several kilometres away.

The cause of the mishap is not clear, though bad weather reportedly played a part.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service