One Missing after Oil Platform Explodes in Louisiana

Video/Roger Fernandez Relevant authorities are searching for a worker who went missing following an explosion on an oil platform in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, in the evening hours of October 15. Out of the eight people who were aboard the platform at the time of the explosion, one person did not make it to shore. Of the seven people who made it to shore, six were taken to the hospital, according to data provided by the US Coast Guard. Sector New Orleans launched a Coast Guard Station New Orleans 29-foot Response Boat-Small boatcrew, a Station New Orleans 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew, and a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter air crew. Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, Jefferson County Parish, and St. Charles Parish also have marine units on scene. Bayou Gauche Fire Department and a good Samaritan vessel are on scene fighting the fire, which has been reduced substantially. The oil platform explosion was first reported to Coast Guard Sector New Orleans at around 8 pm. The US Coast Guard said that the cause of the incident is currently unknown, however, City of Kenner Government cited the authorities on the scene as saying that cleaning chemicals ignited on the surface of the oil rig platform.