At least seven people were injured and one man is missing after an oil rig owned by Closely Oil Co. on Lake Pontchartrain in Kenner, Louisiana near New Orleans exploded on Sunday evening, CBS News reports.
As of Monday morning, they report that three people were still in the hospital and the one missing man is still unaccounted for as The Coast Guard is performing a search and rescue.
CBS also reports that Kenner Sheriff Joesph Lopinto said the platform stores natural gas. As for what happened, “Authorities on the scene report that cleaning chemicals ignited on the surface of the oil rig platform,” the City of Kenner Facebook page posted, adding that “seven crew members were rescued and are being treated at local hospitals.”
At least 7 people injured after a large explosion on an oil rig in Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain ignites a fire. https://t.co/Jh3HPHy3fV pic.twitter.com/D4wAJWO0sq
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 16, 2017
As of Monday morning the search for the missing worker is ongoing and that arson investigators will determine the official cause, WWL-TV reports.
Tim O’Leary, a spokesperson for Clovelly Oil Company said that five of the victims (including the man who was missing) are contract workers for the platform that collects oil and gas from wells, according to WWL-TV. He also said that the explosion occurred during maintenance and that the fire continued to burn overnight (only going out around noon on Monday.)
WWL-TV also reports that the Coast Guard has said there were no immediate signs of pollution on Lake Pontchartrain following the fire.