At least 11 missing after blast on oil rig in Gulf

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At least 11 people were missing and 8 injured after an explosion and fire at an an ultra-deepwater oil drilling platform off the coast of Louisiana, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

Most of the 126 people aboard were believed to have escaped safely after the explosion rocked the rig at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry said.

The rig was still burning Wednesday morning some 52 miles off the southeastern tip of Louisiana, and was listing about 10 degrees because of the blast, the Coast Guard said.

"It's burning pretty good and there's no estimate on when the fire will be put out," O'Berry said. Fire boats were still battling the blaze at the oil platform, called Deep Water Horizon.

Four helicopters, four Coast Guard boats and a plane were helping search for workers who were unaccounted for Wednesday. Conflicting reports were reaching the Coast Guard but at least 11 -- and possibly as many as 15 -- were missing. 

"We're hoping everyone's in a life raft," O'Berry said.

Seven workers were airlifted to a Naval air station near New Orleans, then taken to hospitals. O'Berry said two of the seven were taken to a trauma center in Mobile, Alabama, where there is a burn unit.

Many workers who escaped the rig were being brought to land on a workboat while authorities searched the Gulf of Mexico for any signs of lifeboats.

The rig was drilling but was not in production, according to Greg Panegos, spokesman for its owner, Transocean Ltd., in Houston. The rig was under contract to BP.

Fox News

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