The first phase of firefighting operation at Azerbaijan's Guneshli rig in the Caspian Sea has been completed, the country's Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov said at a ministerial meeting here on Wednesday.

According to the Minister, fire has been extinguished at one of the wells and an operation is underway to bring the blaze at other 6 wells under control.

The minister said that rescuers are still searching for 23 oilmen who went missing after the rig fire and for another three oil workers who went missing after a small cabin, where they were living, was washed into the sea from the platform during a heavy storm on Dec. 4.

"We are going to examine a foundation of the rack," the minister added.

State oil company SOCAR earlier said that 63 workers had been on the Guneshli platform at the time of the accident.

A fire broke out on Guneshli rig on Dec. 4, as a strong storm damaged an underwater high-pressure gas pipeline. Dozens of oil workers had tried to board a life raft attached to the platform but the raft ruptured and a number of them fell into the sea. The bodies of seven killed have been retrieved to date. As many as 33 people were rescued.

Azerbaijan, which borders Russia and Iran, is a major energy producer in the region.

Before the accident, Guneshli platform produced 920 tonnes of oil and 1.08 million cubic meters (38 million cubic feet) of gas per day. About 60 percent of the oil produced by SOCAR was transported through this platform.