Recently a gulf oil rig platform went up in flames after an explosion on the platform located in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast. One dead body was found by divers and one worker is still missing.
There were 22 workers on the platform when the oil rig explosion occurred, according to Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski, chief of the Coast Guard response division in New Orleans. Eleven workers were transported to four area hospitals. Nine others were evacuated from the platform uninjured, he said.
The cause of the oil accident is under investigation, but it appears workers were using a torch to cut a pipe which had around 28 gallons of oil in it, authorities said.
There were about 80 barrels of petroleum product aboard and seven wells on the platform at the time of the explosion, but only about 28 gallons are expected to have released, Cubanski said.
The platform’s owner is Houston based Black Elk Energy. The platform had been shut in “for quite a while” because the export pipeline was being replaced, Black Elk president John Hoffman told KTRK-TV in Houston.
The cause of the incident is under investigation by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Coast Guard is also assisting as needed.
If you were the victim of an oil or natural gas accident that occurred due to the negligence of someone else, you deserve justice. Contact Crowe, Arnold & Majors, LLP today, and we will help you get the compensation you are entitled to.
