Coast Guard searching for signs of life in the Gulf

“We’re hoping everyone’s in a liferaft,” Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike O’Berry said regarding the air and sea search for 11 missing oil rig workers in the Gulf of Mexico.


The Deepwater Horizon platform 50 miles south of Venice, Louisiana was rocked by an explosion Tuesday night with flames still burning Wednesday.

126 workers were aboard the platform at the time of the explosion. Most were evacuated safely by a crew boat. Seven were injured and transported to hospitals in the New Orleans area with one person being treated in the burn unit at the University of South Alabama Medical Center.

The rig was not in production but was in fact drilling, said Greg Panagos, spokesman for the owner, Transocean Ltd. of Houston. The operator is BP.

The latest reports indicate that the rig has a 70 degree list and threatens to topple and sink.

Source: Associated Press