Three workers were killed, one lost at sea and four others injured in an accident off the Almeria coast on board the vessel laying the gas pipeline destined to transport natural gas from Algeria to Almeria. The accident aboard the Saipem 7000, the second largest crane ship in the world, apparently happened due to a mechanical failure resulting in a length of pipe, 12 metres long and weighing twenty tonnes, being dropped by a crane and crushing the workers beneath it. Three workers died in the accident and three others were taken by helicopter to Torrecardenas hospital in Almeria where they were admitted to the intensive care unit with multiple injuries, the fourth man's injuries were only minor. An exhaustive search was launched for a man lost overboard but was called off after the area had been combed with no sign of him.
The Saipem 7000 arrived in Almeria earlier this summer to lay a 120 km. gas pipeline from Beni Saf in Algeria to Almeria at a cost of 900 million euros. It was originally built as a semi-submersible crane vessel capable of lifting and installing offshore structures up to 14,000 tonnes in weight. In 1999, the vessel was converted to accommodate a "J" Lay Tower and pipe handling equipment for laying pipelines in deep water. The tower is the largest in the world with a height of 135 meters, while the overall weight of the complete pipe-laying facilities is 4,500 tonnes.
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