WATCH: $40 Million Iranian Oil Rig Sinks into the Ocean in Seconds

At least shipwrecks generally have a chance to ride the waves before succumbing to the ocean deep.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-s47bDNAc]

The sea has swallowed countless things throughout history. At least shipwrecks generally have a chance to ride the waves before succumbing to the ocean deep. This Iranian oil rig didn’t. It took approximately 10 seconds for the brand-new $40 million oil platform to meet its fate below the sea.

The oil rig, belonging to Iran’s Pars Oil and Gas Company, was being installed in the Persian Gulf last Wednesday when something went quite wrong, leading the “jacket” of the rig to sink more than 260 feet (80 m) below the surface of the water. While details are still fuzzy about what went wrong, what is clear is that the 2,000-ton oil platform began sinking – and fast. Reports said that a crane broke during installation, letting the metal rig descend into the Gulf waters before it was ready to stand on its own.

(PHOTOS: Iran: The Semi-Official View)

The video, which was just recently released this week, shows oil workers scrambling to safety once they notice the peril. Fortunately, all of the oil workers on the rig managed to make it safely ashore, the AFP reports. The $40 million rig was no small task, taking 30 months to build by an branch of Iran’s army, the Revolutionary Guard.

But Iran is having a tough time salvaging its metal, it seems. The Iranian government is asking for foreign aid to help recover the oil platform from the Gulf — made complicated by the fact that many nations have imposed economic sanctions on Iran. Reuters notes that crisis management teams have set up shop along the shoreline, and it could take months to dredge out the rig.