At least two people died and over 50 were missing in freezing waters after an oil rig in Russia's Far Eastern Okhotsk sea turned over today, the regional emergency ministry said.

The Kolskoye oil rig platform was 200 metres (yards) from the shore when the accident occurred at 0145 GMT amid high winds and temperatures of -17 Celsius.

A total of 67 people were on the platform, which was being towed by a tugboat and ice breaker from the Kamchatka peninsula towards the Sakhalin island.

"The portholes were damaged by ice and waves, and water began going into the vessel," a regional emergency ministry spokesman told AFP. The crew was waiting to be evacuated by helicopter but the platform turned over and sank before they could board their rescue rafts, he said.

"Right now rescue workers can see two bodies without signs of life, they are trying to pull them out," he said, adding that 14 people had been rescued and were in serious condition.

The platform was fully submerged. Two out of four life rafts had been found with no people on them. Rescue efforts were complicated by high winds and waves up to four metres (12 feet) high.

Russian investigators launched a probe into possible violations of safety regulations by officials in charge of the platform, the investigative committee said in a statement.

The Kolskoye rig was engaged in shelf exploration in western Kamchatka peninsula for Gazflot company, a subsidiary of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom.