Explosions Brazil

One week after explosions rocked a giant oil rig off Brazil's coast, the tragedy deepened as the death toll rose to 11 and news emerged that the platform's owners were aware of technical problems before the blasts. State oil giant Petrobras said that as recently as three days before the accident, managers at the platform had recommended stopping production to replace parts. Three explosions ripped through the rig March 15, killing 10. It sank five days later.

A blowout at a Brazilian offshore oil rig forced the evacuation of workers and dumped more than 3,400 gallons of crude oil into the sea, near the site where another platform caught fire and sank last month, state oil giant Petrobras said. The oil workers union said the spill was six miles long. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred 75 miles off Brazil's southeastern coast, Petrobras said. A blowout is an uncontrolled flow of oil, gas or water from a well.

A prolonged natural gas leak apparently caused a powerful blast that tore through a packed Brazilian shopping mall, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 470, officials said. Authorities lowered the death toll from the 44 reported Tuesday. Officials said preliminary findings showed liquid petroleum gas trapped under the concrete floor of the food court at the mall outside Sao Paulo exploded at lunchtime Tuesday.

One week after explosions rocked a giant oil rig off Brazil's coast, the tragedy deepened as the death toll rose to 11 and news emerged that the platform's owners were aware of technical problems before the blasts. State oil giant Petrobras said that as recently as three days before the accident, managers at the platform had recommended stopping production to replace parts. Three explosions ripped through the rig March 15, killing 10. It sank five days later.

A blowout at a Brazilian offshore oil rig forced the evacuation of workers and dumped more than 3,400 gallons of crude oil into the sea, near the site where another platform caught fire and sank last month, state oil giant Petrobras said. The oil workers union said the spill was six miles long. No one was injured in the accident, which occurred 75 miles off Brazil's southeastern coast, Petrobras said. A blowout is an uncontrolled flow of oil, gas or water from a well.

A fireworks stall exploded Friday at an outdoor antique market in downtown Vitoria, in southeastern Brazil, killing as many as 30 people and injuring more than 40, fire officials said. Passing cars flipped over, trees were flattened, and flaming debris and tin roofs flew through the air, fire officials said. The market was jammed with about 250 shoppers.

Explosions and fire ravaged the world's largest offshore oil rig Thursday, killing at least one worker, weakening the nation's currency and shaking its biggest company. Three blasts shortly after midnight rocked the Brazilian rig, which weighs about 32,000 tons and stands 40 stories high. The platform is 75 miles off Brazil's southeastern Atlantic coast in the Campos Basin, northeast of Rio de Janeiro. It accounted for more than three-quarters of the 1.

A crippled Brazilian oil platform sank into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and started spilling oil Tuesday, five days after explosions on the giant rig killed 10 workers and damaged the finances and image of Brazil's state oil company. Despite efforts to save the P-36 platform, one of the world's largest, the 40-story rig tipped and sank rapidly about 10:30 a.m.

Union leaders and government officials accused Brazil's national oil company Friday of failing to take precautions that could have prevented an accident that killed up to 10 workers and crippled one of the world's largest offshore oil platforms. Three explosions devastated the 40-story platform in the Roncador oil field in the Atlantic Ocean about 80 miles from the coast and 120 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. It is unclear what caused the explosions.

Navy divers, engineers and U.S. consultants raced to salvage a crippled offshore oil rig Saturday despite a warning that the huge platform could sink in less than two days. The 30 specialists entered the partly submerged Brazilian rig, one of the world's largest, for the first time since explosions and fire Thursday forced its evacuation, state oil giant Petrobras said.

A crippled Brazilian oil platform sank into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro and started spilling oil Tuesday, five days after explosions on the giant rig killed 10 workers and damaged the finances and image of Brazil's state oil company. Despite efforts to save the P-36 platform, one of the world's largest, the 40-story rig tipped and sank rapidly about 10:30 a.m.

Navy divers, engineers and U.S. consultants raced to salvage a crippled offshore oil rig Saturday despite a warning that the huge platform could sink in less than two days. The 30 specialists entered the partly submerged Brazilian rig, one of the world's largest, for the first time since explosions and fire Thursday forced its evacuation, state oil giant Petrobras said.

Union leaders and government officials accused Brazil's national oil company Friday of failing to take precautions that could have prevented an accident that killed up to 10 workers and crippled one of the world's largest offshore oil platforms. Three explosions devastated the 40-story platform in the Roncador oil field in the Atlantic Ocean about 80 miles from the coast and 120 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. It is unclear what caused the explosions.

Explosions and fire ravaged the world's largest offshore oil rig Thursday, killing at least one worker, weakening the nation's currency and shaking its biggest company. Three blasts shortly after midnight rocked the Brazilian rig, which weighs about 32,000 tons and stands 40 stories high. The platform is 75 miles off Brazil's southeastern Atlantic coast in the Campos Basin, northeast of Rio de Janeiro. It accounted for more than three-quarters of the 1.

An explosion destroyed an illegal fireworks factory in northeastern Brazil on Friday, killing 19 people and injuring 60, police said. "There were a lot of people, many of them women, working in the building when the explosion happened," police officer Paulo Raimundo de Souza said by telephone. "It seems like they had been working flat-out because there is a big demand for fireworks at this time of year with New Year's Eve coming up shortly." The explosion happened at 11:30 a.m.

A prolonged natural gas leak apparently caused a powerful blast that tore through a packed Brazilian shopping mall, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 470, officials said. Authorities lowered the death toll from the 44 reported Tuesday. Officials said preliminary findings showed liquid petroleum gas trapped under the concrete floor of the food court at the mall outside Sao Paulo exploded at lunchtime Tuesday.

An explosion ripped through a shopping mall on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, blasting holes in concrete walls and killing at least 44 people. More than 100 others were injured. Twenty-seven bodies were pulled from the rubble, and 17 people died at or en route to the hospital, Sao Paulo state police Col. Isaias Mascarenhas said. At the time of the blast, as many as 2,000 shoppers were believed to be in the center, which has 200 stores and three movie theaters.

A series of explosions late Sunday rocked the navy's main arms depot on an island about 200 yards off the coast of Brazil, injuring at least 20 people and leaving dozens missing and feared dead. Navy officials said as many as 100 people may have been at the depot at the time, the CBN radio network reported. TV Globo, quoting the Navy Ministry, reported that as many as 40 people may have been killed.

An explosion ripped through a shopping mall on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, blasting holes in concrete walls and killing at least 44 people. More than 100 others were injured. Twenty-seven bodies were pulled from the rubble, and 17 people died at or en route to the hospital, Sao Paulo state police Col. Isaias Mascarenhas said. At the time of the blast, as many as 2,000 shoppers were believed to be in the center, which has 200 stores and three movie theaters.

A series of explosions late Sunday rocked the navy's main arms depot on an island about 200 yards off the coast of Brazil, injuring at least 20 people and leaving dozens missing and feared dead. Navy officials said as many as 100 people may have been at the depot at the time, the CBN radio network reported. TV Globo, quoting the Navy Ministry, reported that as many as 40 people may have been killed.