Oil Rig Explosion off Louisiana Coast

You know what’s next right by the Left? It’s too dangerous for us to drill baby drill.

Mark my words!


From The Christian Science Monitor:

Major mishaps aboard oil rigs are rare. But accidents like the Transocean Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion show the risks as companies explore farther and drill deeper.

A fire aboard the mobile offshore Transocean Deepwater Horizon drilling unit burns 52 miles southeast of Venice, La. Helicopters, ships, and an airplane searched waters off Louisiana's coast Wednesday for missing workers after the oil rig explosion and fire.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Lloyd/US Coast Guard/AP

From ABC News:

An overnight explosion in the Gulf of Mexico rocked the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Louisiana coast, sending spectacular bursts of flame into the sky. The fires were still raging today.

At least seven workers were critically injured, said the Coast Guard. Eleven others were reported missing after the explosion.

Although Billy Nungesser, the president of Plaquemines Parish, La., said a boat was found this morning containing the missing crew members this morning, Coast Guard Petty Officer Mike Blakney told ABC News they were unable to confirm that the missing crew was found. They have continued to search area surrounding the oil platform with helicopters and search boats.

Petty Officer Blakney also said 17 injured crew members had been evacuated by helicopter to area hospitals following the explosion.

Another 99 workers were evacuated aboard the rig's supply vessels and were headed to Port Fourchon, due south of New Orleans.

The rig was drilling at the time of the explosion, but was not pumping oil, according to Greg Panagos, spokesman for its owner, Transocean Ltd. in Houston. The rig was under contract to BP PLC.

According to the Transocean website, the Deepwater Horizon is 396 feet long and 256 feet wide and is located in 5,000 feet of water. Last September, the Deepwater Horizon broke a world record when it burrowed down more than 35,000 feet at another BP site in the Gulf of Mexico.

Floating Platform Tilted in Water
The oil platform has tilted about 70 degrees, leading authorities to fear it may topple into the water. The Coast Guard told ABC News it does not have an estimate for when the raging fire might die down.
Full story


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