According to sources and a report on the accident, at least four people are dead after an oil barge sank in Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo. The barge was operated by a contractor for the state-run PDVSA energy company.

The report said that another 19 people were successfully rescued at the accident scene by Thursday morning.

Barges carrying Venezuelan fuel and oil between ports in Venezuela and the Caribbean are involved in more and more incidents. In March, a large fuel spill from a capsized Venezuelan barge near Tobago affected several Caribbean countries.

PDVSA didn't immediately respond to a comment request.

(source: Reuters)