Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico

A blast on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico threw 13 people in the water, injuring one. The explosion torn through the offshore oil rig, west of the Deepwater Horizon tragic oil spill. A commercial helicopter company reported the explosion at about 09.30 local time (that’s 13.30 GMT), according to Petty Officer Casey Ranel from the Coast Guard.

There are no further reports about the structure of the structure of the rig, whether it is a production platform or a drilling rig, but seven helicopters, four boats and two airplanes are en route to the explosion site, which is 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.

Although there is smoke, there are no reports indicating that the rig is still burning or not but all the crew members of the oil rig were accounted for and one was reported injured.

The platform is owned by Mariner Energy and is located in about 2,500ft of water, according to the Coast Guard officials. The oil company is one of the largest independent oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico.  At the end of 2009, the company had interests in nearly 350 Federal offshore leases.

The Mariner Energy oil rig explosion comes after more than four months ago (April 20) when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded causing the gush of hundreds of million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and costing the lives of 11 workers.

Hopefully this won’t turn into another tragedy for the people of Louisiana and the wildlife of Gulf of Mexico.