Blast on gulf oil rig injures 1 worker

By William Branigin and Debbi Wilgoren
Thursday, September 2, 2010; 11:56 AM

An offshore oil rig exploded Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico, injuring at least one worker, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

All 13 people on board the Vermilion Oil Rig 380 have been accounted for, and the one who was injured is being transported to a hospital, Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough said.

The rig is believed to be on fire, Colclough told CNN in a live telephone interview. He said it has not yet been determined whether there is a leak as a result of the explosion.

Multiple Coast Guard, Navy and civilian vessels are en route to the site of the explosion west of the location of the April 20 blast on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that caused a massive oil spill.

The latest blast was reported by a commercial helicopter company about 10:30 a.m. EDT Thursday, the Coast Guard said.

Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast, the Associated Press reported.
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