Oil Barge Sinks in Venezuela, Killing Two

At least two people died and four were declared missing following the sinking of an oil barge operated by a contractor of Venezuelan state-run energy company PDVSA at Lake Maracaibo, PDVSA said on Thursday.

Sources and an internal report from the company had indicated four fatalities from the accident earlier on Thursday. But PDVSA said rescue work to find the four missing people has not finished.

"PDVSA reports the unfortunate sinking of barge Chantase G of company SOSCA, provider of oil well maintenance services, in Lake Maracaibo due to the poor weather conditions affecting the area," the company said in a release.

Another 19 people were successfully rescued on Thursday morning at the accident site, the report said.

Incidents involving barges that carry Venezuelan oil and fuel between domestic ports and to the Caribbean have become frequent. A large fuel oil spill near Tobago from a capsized barge navigating from Venezuela hit several Caribbean nations in March.

(Reuters - Reporting by Mircely Guanipa, Mariela Nava and Deisy Buitrago; Editing by Marianna Parraga and Leslie Adler)