An offshore oil platform of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) near Mumbai was destroyed in a major fire Wednesday, causing a "considerable number of deaths," said Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar here Wednesday.

"There has been a major fire at around 4-4:30 p.m. on the platform BHN at Bombay High," the minister told a hurriedly convened press conference here. "The platform has been completely destroyed while a service vehicle and a nearby rig were also caught fire."

ONGC chief Subir Raha said the fire was possibly caused by stormy weather following the incessant rains that have lashed the Maharashtra coast in the past two days.

"There were about 200-300 people at the facility and no estimate can be made about the casualties now. But there is bound to be considerable loss of life," Aiyar said.

The offshore oil field named Bombay High is located about 160 km off Mumbai and accounts for between 30-50 percent of India's domestic oil production.

Source: Xinhua