1 La. oil worker dead, 1 still missing in Gulf after Tropical Storm Nate

A Louisiana worker who evacuated a liftboat in the Gulf of Mexico is still officially missing.

Nick Reed of New Iberia and nine others fled the Trinity II Thursday afternoon during savage weather in the throes of Tropical Storm Nate. Conditions at the site about 8 miles off the coast of the state of Tabasco, Mexico in the Gulf of Campeche were described as 70 to 80 mile per hour winds with 20 to 25 foot seas.

The group escaped in an enclosed life raft and were adrift for three days. Reed was still unaccounted for at last report. He is the son of Randy Reed, President of Trinity Liftboats, which owned the vessel. However, two unidentified bodies were recovered. The liftboat was chartered by Houston-based Geokinetics.

A fellow Louisiana man did not survive. Craig Joseph Myers, 32, also a native of New Iberia, La., died. His body was recovered, though latest news reports did not specify if his body was found in the raft or in the water. Funeral services for Craig Joseph Myers are pending . He worked as a crane operator for Trinity Lift Boats. According to the Mexican Navy, four survivors and one of the deceased was located in the boat while the three other survivors and another body were pulled out of the water.

Two other Louisiana residents, Jeremy Parfait of Houma and Ted Derise, Jr., of New Iberia, were rescued. Their conditions were unknown.  Four Mexicans also survived. A Bangladesh man who was also rescued died after being taken to a hospital in the port city of Ciudad del Carmen.

The Coast Guard has been monitoring the situation and has been in contact with the Mexican Navy, which was continuing the search for the remaining missing worker.

Source: Houston Chronicle