More than 300 people were rescued yesterday afternoon after fire broke out on the Bombay High North platform.

Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told a news conference in New Delhi that the platform - about 160km south-west of Bombay where heavy rains and severe flooding had already stretched emergency services - had been “completely destroyed."

Platform owner Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said a nearby support vessel in the Bombay High offshore oil field was also on fire and a chartered rig deployed in the vicinity had been abandoned.

A total of 341 people had been rescued by the coast guard, navy and ONGC staff, ONGC officials said.

But bad weather hampered rescue operations. Most helicopters in Bombay had been grounded because of heavy rains and the few helicopters that were available faced rough seas and poor visibility.

Reuters said initial reports indicated the fire might have started when a vessel had been swept into the platform by high monsoon winds.

An ONGC official said it was unlikely the fire would have caused an oil spill, as emergency systems would have automatically shut production down.

Aiyar said it would take several months for production to return to normal, but other platforms in the field were continuing to function normally.

The Bombay High North platformhad been producing 100,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd), out of a total Bombay High production of 260,000 bopd.

Bombay High, India's largest offshore field, accounts for about 38% of all domestic production and about 14% of India’s total oil needs.