Survivors of Oil Rig Explosion Recount the Terrifying Event

The blast that injured several rig workers and left 11 missing occurred only two days ago, but to the relatives of the survivors, it has seemed like the hours have just dragged by.  Family members anxiously awaited word from their loved ones late Wednesday night and early this morning.

Workers from the oil rig, Deepwater Horizon, were transported by bus to the Crowne Plaza hotel in Kenner, Louisiana at about 4:30 AM this morning.  Many of the workers were still wearing their orange or blue jumpsuits and boots.  Relatives nervously stood by, looking for their loved ones to disembark the buses.

As the workers are back on land, more details have surfaced regarding the tragic explosion on an oil rig owned by Transocean, Ltd.  One man, who was on the rig at the time of the fire eruption, said that he’d been awake for 48 hours.    When describing the Transocean rig explosion, this worker said, “it blew out and we had like zero time from the time the alarm went.  It was all in flames.”

Another worker, Stanley Murray, said that he had less than five minutes to get off the oil rig.  According to Murray’s father, “my son had just walked off the drill floor.  He said if he’d been there five minutes later he would’ve been dead.”

Murray doesn’t believe the 11 missing workers will be found. 

For the families of the missing rig workers, it is now a matter of waiting and praying for their loved ones.

This oil rig explosion is not the first for Transocean.  Just six years ago, another explosion occurred near Galveston, Texas.  I represented a young man who was injured in this rig accident, which caused death and injuries among the crew.