By Chad Love

Just weeks after the months-long oil spill from the BP disaster was finally staunched, another rig off the coast of Louisiana has reportedly exploded.

From this story on ABC News:
An offshore oil rig has exploded and burst into flames in the Gulf of Mexico just west of the infamous BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Initial reports said that the 13 workers on the rig were accounted for but were floating in the water near the rig. Twelve of the workers are reportedly wearing immersion suits, and one worker is reportedly injured. The U.S. Coast Guard has seven helicopters, two fixed-wing planes and a number of watercraft on the way to the scene. The rig, positioned 80 miles south of Vermillion Bay in Louisiana, is owned by Mariner Energy. It was not immediately known what caused the explosion, but the rig reportedly remained on fire after the explosion. Initial reports suggest that the rig was not actively drilling oil at the time of the incident, but it is unclear whether oil is leaking into the water.

And the latest from a continually-updated CNN breaking news blog:

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough tells CNN that 12 people from the production platform are in water immersion suits as they await rescue. Colclough told CNN there are reports the production platform is still on fire. "We don't know what caused the rig to catch on fire," he told CNN, noting the incident is under investigation. Asked about concerns regarding oil leaks or pollution, Colclough said "there are reports the rig was not actively producing any product, so we don't know if there's any risk of pollution." The incident comes nearly five months after a separate explosion on a BP rig in the Gulf triggered oil leak disaster.

Comments (5)

from countitandone wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

Oil Rig working is fast becoming a very dangerous vocation. Right up there with city firemen. My question is two-fold: Who's watching the store and how will Mariner Energy squirm outta this one?

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from Walt Smith wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

No doubt the Demo-Dorks will be blaming Bush for this one too!!

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from jamesti wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

they say bad things come in threes. can the gulf survive more of this?

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from Coachcl wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

This is crazy. Who is watching to make sure the workers are safe and that the rig itself isn't going to damage anything else. Apparently oil companies don't care that much. After BP screws up you would think everyone would be on high alert. Apparently not.

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from OrangeNeckInNY wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

I have a feeling all these oil-industry-related disasters are the work of saboteurs. The eco-terrorists are systematically sabotaging everything that is oil related.

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from jamesti wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

they say bad things come in threes. can the gulf survive more of this?

+4 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from countitandone wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

Oil Rig working is fast becoming a very dangerous vocation. Right up there with city firemen. My question is two-fold: Who's watching the store and how will Mariner Energy squirm outta this one?

+3 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Walt Smith wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

No doubt the Demo-Dorks will be blaming Bush for this one too!!

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from OrangeNeckInNY wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

I have a feeling all these oil-industry-related disasters are the work of saboteurs. The eco-terrorists are systematically sabotaging everything that is oil related.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Coachcl wrote 1 year 37 weeks ago

This is crazy. Who is watching to make sure the workers are safe and that the rig itself isn't going to damage anything else. Apparently oil companies don't care that much. After BP screws up you would think everyone would be on high alert. Apparently not.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

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