At approximately 9:30 am Thursday September 2, 2010, a helicopter company reported a blast in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rig exploded less than 100 miles to the south of Vermillion Bay. This oil rig blast site is also west of the BP Deepwater Horizon blast site. Information currently available indicated that several aircraft and boats were proceeding to the oil rig blast site.
Reports indicate that all thirteen people working on the rig have been accounted for. It appears that the rig is still on fire. Additional information was not yet available. As information is received regarding this explosion, we will update our website. Please check back frequently.
Emerging news reports from the Times Picayune are now reporting that the rig was “an oil and gas production rig located in 340 feet of water.” Additionally, the article indicated one injury has been reported and “twelve of the workers are in immersion suits, designed to protect them from hypothermia.”
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
