CAIRO, Mar 23 (Aswat Masriya) - A fire that erupted in an oil rig off the shore of South Sinai on Monday has been isolated from the rest of the rig and is under control, company and ministry statements said.

The fire erupted in the rig's machine room, the Petroleum Ministry said in a statement.

Atef Hassan, the chairman of Petrobel, also known as Belayim Petroleum Company said in a statement that no one was injured in the fire.

He added that the crew has been evacuated for safety reasons. 

The oil rig is located 35 kilometers south of the coast of South Sinai.

The equipment that caught fire was leased from an American drilling firm.