NPR: A fire on an offshore oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been extinguished, the owner of the rig said Thursday.
The platform, about 100 miles south of the Louisiana coast, exploded Thursday morning. All 13 people aboard were rescued from the water in the second such disaster in the Gulf in less than five months.
Production Platform On Fire South Of Louisiana, U.S. Coast Guard Reports
The owner of the rig, Houston-based Mariner Energy, said the cause of the fire remains unknown and that an investigation is under way.
NPR: According to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough, an offshore oil rig, Vermilion Oil Rig 380, owned by Mariner Energy, Inc., is on fire, some 90 miles south of Vermilion Bay, below Marsh Island, Louisiana.
In an interview with CNN, he said there were 13 people aboard the rig. All of them have been accounted for. Twelve of the employees have been placed in immersion suits. They will receive medical treatment at Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, Louisiana.
Eight Coast Guard rescue helicopters have been dispatched to the rig location. In addition, three Coast Guard cutters — Decisive, Manta and Skip Jack — are en route, with four civilian vessels.
As of last year, Mariner Energy, which is headquartered in Houston, “had interests approximately 240 blocks on the continental shelf and 100 blocks in deepwater,” and “net interests in more than 185,000 acres, primarily in the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast.”
