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13 oil workers pulled from sea after second offshore rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 9:15 PM on 2nd September 2010
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.ukAn offshore petroleum platform has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, west of the site of the April blast that caused the massive oil spill.
U.S. Coast Guard officers received reports of the explosion at the rig which produces 1,400 barrels of oil a day from a commercial helicopter company at about 2.30pm today.
A mile-long oil sheen was seen on the surface near the burning platform as a single fire-fighting ship tackled the blaze.
Seven helicopters, two aeroplanes and four boats were sent to the site, about 100 miles south of Vermilion Bay off the central Louisiana coast.
On fire: The burning oil rig is sited 100 miles of the coast of Louisiana, US. 13 crew members were rescued by Coast Guard boats sent to the scene after an explosion
All 13 people aboard the rig were rescued from the sea after evacuating the rig as the fire took hold.
One of the crew members was injured, but the extent was not known.
They were rescued from the water by an offshore service vessel, the Crystal Clear, and then taken to a nearby platform.
All were being flown to the Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma to be checked over.
‘Thirteen people were seen huddled together in the water wearing gumby suits or immersion suits, water protection suits, so we were able to confirm that all people were accounted for,’ Coast Guard spokesman Chief Petty Officer John Edwards said.
‘These guys had the presence of mind, used their training to get into those gumby suits before they entered the water. It speaks volumes to safety training and the importance of it because, beyond getting off the rig, there’s all the hazards of the water such as hypothermia.’
Seven Coast Guard helicopters, two aeroplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Alabama.
The platform, known as Vermilion Oil Platform 380, was owned by Mariner Energy of Houston.
Rescue operation: Boats are seen spraying water on the oil platform
Damping down: The rig produces 900,000 cubic litres of natural gas each dayIt stands in just 340ft of water and produces 900,000 cubic litres of natural gas each day.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was in a national security meeting and did not know whether Obama had been informed of the explosion.
‘We obviously have response assets ready for deployment should we receive reports of pollution in the water,’ Gibbs said.
Mariner Energy focuses on oil and gas exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico.
In April, Apache Corp., another independent petroleum company, announced plans to buy Mariner in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of about $1.2 billion of Mariner’s debt.
Explosion: The Coast Guard Cutter Decisive, which was involved after the Deepwater Horizon spill, has been sent to a fresh blast at another rig todayThe deal is still pending, while a company report said the well was drilled in the third quarter of 2008.
Federal authorities have cited Mariner Energy and related entities for ten accidents in the Gulf of Mexico over the last four years, according to safety records from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.
The accidents range from platform fires to pollution spills and a blowout, according to accident-investigation reports from the agency formerly known as the Minerals Management Service.
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